Bhubaneswar: Odisha’s Opposition BJD Tuesday sought clarification from Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on his family’s link with Vikas Foundation Trust that allegedly purchased properties in the US.
Several BJP leaders, however, rejected the allegations, asserting that it was part of a vilification campaign targeting Pradhan.
Addressing a press conference in Bhubaneswar, Rajya Sabha MP Sulata Deo and party spokesperson Lenin Mohanty sought clarification from the BJP leader over the controversy on the Trust.
“Various information and allegations regarding the Vikas Foundation Trust are being circulated on social media. Since the name of Union Minister Pradhan’s wife has been linked with this trust, doubts have arisen in the minds of the public,” Deo told reporters.
Noting that just as questions were raised from time to time regarding the Biju Naveen Inspirational Trust and clarifications were provided by the BJD, Deo said, “Dharmendra Babu should explain what kind of relationship he or his family has with the Vikas Foundation Trust.”
Pradhan should clarify whether an individual who met his daughter at Mellors in the US, where she is pursuing her LLM studies, was associated with education-related businesses, Mohanty said.
The BJD leader also asked Mohanty to clarify if the director of a company was shown as his daughter’s local guardian in the US, and whether the minister changed the terms and conditions three times in order to award work related to CBSE answer sheet evaluation to that company.
The BJD had earlier accused Pradhan of focusing more on Odisha politics than on his ministerial duties, leading to lapses in examination integrity.
Messages from PTI to the Union Minister to get his comment on the accusations were not replied.
However, BJP leader Surath Biswal said in a statement that one can get details about Vikas Foundation Trust from its website.
“These people are making an imaginary story. The allegations are false, baseless and not based on truth,” Biswal said.
Health and Family Welfare Minister Mukesh Mahaling said, “For several days, certain social media handles have been circulating allegations linking Prof Radhakrishnan Jayaraman to a property in the United States and falsely claiming that he served as the local guardian of Union Minister Shri Dharmendra Pradhan’s daughter.”
Mahaling claimed in an X post that many of these claims have been amplified by a social media account, reportedly being operated from Croatia, which has been actively spreading unverified and misleading content.
“No credible evidence has been presented to support any of these allegations. The claim that a house located in Melrose, USA belongs to Shri Dharmendra Pradhan is completely false and appears to be part of a deliberate misinformation campaign aimed at serving narrow political interests,” he alleged.
These politically motivated efforts to malign the image of Pradhan, “a leader committed to the development of Odisha and the nation”, are bound to fail, the minister said.
Odisha’s Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan and state BJP spokesperson Anil Biswal also defended Dharmendra.
