BJP sharpens attack on BJD; allege Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik ‘is controlled like a puppet’

BJP accuses BJD of creating deepfake videos of Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik, raising concerns about his isolation.

The Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) on Monday accused Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leaders of producing a deepfake video of Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik by using artificial intelligence and emphasised the need to rescue of Mr. Patnaik from “isolation”.

Even as the fourth phase of elections (Odisha’s first) is underway, the State BJP stepped up its attack on the BJD by raising the ability of Odisha CM to function independently.

In a press conference, BJP’s state president Manmohan Samal, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, BJP national vice president Baijyant Panda and Members of Parliament Aparajita Sarangi questioned Mr. Patnaik’s fitness.

“It is a matter of grave concern the way the State government has been outsourced. The person who was elected by people of Odisha five years ago has been made captive. He is controlled like a puppet,” said Mr. Panda, in an apparent reference to V.K. Pandian, a close aide of Mr. Patnaik, and his influence on the State government.

“Whenever Mr. Patnaik is appearing to deliver video messages, the majority of these videos were not of him. This clearly indicates artificial intelligence tools were used to bring out his deepfake videos,” he alleged.

The senior BJP leader added that “everyone should think about the condition of Odisha CM before the year 2018 and now. He was not the same person what he was before 2018. Now, he is controlled by one person. This is a matter of sadness personally for me as my family and the family of the late Biju Patnaik relished a close bond for a long time. ”

“If he [Mr. Patnaik] is able to repeat his own video message physically on a public platform, one can easily detect the difference. People have the right to know if Mr. Patnaik is himself giving video messages or being dictated by one person,” he said.