3 min readBhubaneswarMar 19, 2026 07:00 AM IST
First published on: Mar 19, 2026 at 07:00 AM IST
A row has erupted in Odisha over the purpose and funding of a charitable trust called Biju Naveen Inspirational Foundation, which has stayed under the radar since it was floated by BJD chief Naveen Patnaik nearly a year ago. The president of the foundation and a lifelong trustee is V K Pandian, the Patnaik confidant who was eased out of a public role after party leaders blamed him for the BJD’s loss to the BJP in the 2024 Assembly elections.
On Wednesday, facing questions including from within the BJD, Patnaik told mediapersons on the sidelines of the Assembly Session that the trust had not received funds from the BJD or any other party.
The former chief minister said that he had founded the Biju Naveen Inspirational Foundation ahead of undergoing a critical neck surgery in Mumbai, on the advice of legal and financial experts. Official documents show that the foundation was registered in May last year in Delhi under The Indian Trusts Act, 1982, with Patnaik’s residence on Delhi’s Dr A P J Abdul Kalam Road mentioned as its address.
“I decided to open a trust in Biju Babu’s (Naveen’s father and former CM Biju Patnaik’s) name, for the benefit of the people of Odisha. It started with Rs 1 lakh from my own personal fund… None of the money will come from the BJD or any party funds,” said Patnaik.
He invoked his father’s and his family’s “charitable legacy”, recalling how Patnaik Senior had created the UNESCO Kalinga Prize for the popularisation of science, when he was just 30. These were just one of many other good works in his lifetime, Patnaik said.
“My brother, sister and I also donated our family home in Cuttack, Anand Bhawan, to the people of Odisha for their use.”
Apart from the funding and purpose, questions are being raised over the choice of Pandian, a bureaucrat-turned-politician whose clout during Patnaik’s government was controversial, to head the trust. The secretary of the trust is ex-corporate leader-turned politician Santrupt Misra, who is also the political secretary of Patnaik and was recently elected to the Rajya Sabha. Former Odisha Advocate General Ashok Kumar Parija is a trustee. Like Pandin, they are life-long trustees.
As per official documents, the Biju Naveen Inspirational Foundation works in sectors like education and literacy, environment, forest, health, rural development, poverty alleviation and sports.
A BJD leader said: “We have no problem with the trust, but it should have been done in a transparent manner. If it was registered in May last year, some senior party leaders should have been informed about it.”
Party leaders also ask why the trust is based in Delhi. “If a trust has been opened in Biju Babu and Naveen Babu’s name, it should work for the people of Odisha, not in Delhi,” the leader quoted above said.
The BJP has asked why BJD MP Misra did not list the trust in the affidavit he filed for his Rajya Sabha election, saying this was deliberate.
Misra did not respond to queries on the matter.