Bhubaneswar: The long-standing Kotia dispute between Odisha and Andhra Pradesh has triggered a political war of words, with the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) demanding immediate legal intervention by the state government and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accusing the previous government of failing to resolve the issue during its 24-year tenure.Senior BJD MLA Ganeswar Behera described the situation in Kotia as worrying, alleging that Andhra Pradesh had continued to make inroads into the disputed area despite a 2006 Supreme Court order to maintain the status quo.Behera urged the Odisha government to take immediate steps to protect the state’s interests and approach the Supreme Court for a stay against what he described as violations of the court’s order.He also criticised the BJP for failing to resolve the dispute despite promising a solution in its election manifesto.“Instead of merely talking about taking all political parties together to fight the issue, the government should translate its words into action,” Behera said, referring to the Revenue Minister’s stated position on the matter.He added that BJD president and Leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik had taken the issue seriously and sent a team to Kotia. “Kotia belongs to Odisha, and there can be no compromise on this,” he asserted.Track Exec OrdersBJP accuses BJD of failing to protect Kotia.Hitting back at the BJD, BJP general secretary Biranchi Tripathy said the party had undertaken several initiatives for Kotia’s development even when it was in the Opposition.Tripathy cited visits by former Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to the region and initiatives to address connectivity problems, including the installation of mobile towers.He said that after the BJP came to power in Odisha, the state government constituted a high-level committee under the leadership of the Revenue Minister to address issues concerning Kotia. Ministers and officials have repeatedly visited the region to review development work and ensure that government welfare schemes reach residents, he added.According to Tripathy, the administration has focused on delivering benefits under schemes such as Subhadra Yojana and ensuring access to ration supplies. He also said the government had held meetings through video conferencing to discuss the situation and prepare its next course of action.Tripathy maintained that the BJP government intended to work with all Opposition parties to find a solution to the dispute.BJP questions BJD’s record in powerThe BJP leader questioned the BJD’s record during its 24 years in government, asking how many of its leaders had visited Kotia and what steps the previous government had taken to prevent Andhra Pradesh from conducting electoral activities in the area.He referred to Andhra Pradesh’s local electoral exercise in Kotia on February 13, 2021, alleging that the then BJD government had failed to stop it. He also questioned why a proposed visit by a House committee led by the Speaker, announced in 2022, had not materialised.Tripathy further referred to a meeting between Naveen Patnaik and then Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, questioning what had been discussed while Andhra Pradesh was allegedly undertaking activities in Kotia.Rejecting the BJD’s criticism over the BJP’s political ties with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Tripathy cited the respective strengths of the parties in the Lok Sabha. He argued that the BJD was attempting to create a political narrative rather than focus on the facts.Kotia remains a sensitive inter-state issue.The Kotia region, located in Odisha’s Koraput district along the Andhra Pradesh border, has been at the centre of a long-running dispute over territorial claims and administrative control.Both states have undertaken administrative and welfare-related activities in the area, making the issue a recurring point of political contention in Odisha.While the BJD has called for immediate legal action, the BJP has defended the state government’s development initiatives and said it is preparing a strategy involving Opposition parties.The latest exchange has once again brought the Kotia dispute into the political spotlight, with both parties accusing each other of failing to adequately protect Odisha’s interests.
October 23, 2026
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