Bhubaneswar: After BJD's debacle in 2024 elections in Odisha, IAS Officer Sujata Karthikeyan, the wife of BJD Supremo Naveen Patnaik's close aide VK Pandian, was granted childcare leave for a period of six months.

As per the official order issued by the General Administration & Public Grievance Department, Sujata R. Karthikeyan, who is presently serving as the Special Secretary at the Finance Department, has been granted leave for a period of 180 days with effect from May 31 to November 26 to take care of her minor daughter appearing in her 10th Examination as per Rule 18-D of AIS (Leave) Rules, 1955.

The childcare leave will not be debited against the leave account. During the period of childcare leave, she will be paid a leave salary equal to the pay drawn before proceeding on leave.

Earlier, the 2000-batch IAS officer was transferred from the Department of Mission Shakti to Finance Department on ECI order following a complaint lodged by the BJP alleging 'misuse' of her position as the Commissioner-cum-Secretary to the Mission Shakti Department to influence voters for the electoral gains of the BJD.

Read: Odisha: IAS officer Sujata R. Karthikeyan shifted from Mission Shakti department following ECI order

While question is being raised by a section of media on whereabouts of former bureaucrat VK Pandian after the BJD lost the Assembly polls in Odisha with winning zero Lok Sabha seats for Parliament in the recently concluded elections, the leave granted to his wife just a day after vote counting raises eyebrows of many.

Yesterday, three senior bureaucrats in Odisha resigned from their posts following the BJD's debacle in the elections. While Manoj Kumar Mishra, the Principal Secretary to Electronics and IT Department, quit his post, two retired IAS officers -- Suresh Chandra Mohapatra and R Balakrishnan -- who were posted as advisors to Odisha Government, tendered their resignations after outgoing Naveen Patnaik-led government's defeat.