The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday (03.04.2024) ordered the transfer of IAS officer Sujata R Karthikeyan (IAS:2000:OR) from her position as Secretary of the Mission Shakti Department in Odisha. She has been moved to a non-public-dealing department with immediate effect.
Sujata R Karthikeyan is the wife of Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader VK Pandian, who took voluntary retirement from Indian Administrative Service in October 2023 to become an active leader of the BJD.
In its representation to the ECI, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accused Sujata R. Karthikeyan of misusing her position and the Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) program of the Election Commission to influence around 70,000 women associated with self-help groups under Mission Shakti for the electoral gains of the BJD.
