At a time while the BJD and the BJP are targeting each other over the Mahanadi water dispute between Odisha and Chhattisgarh, the Congress on Monday alleged that the BJD and the BJP Government were having political negotiation on the issue.

Targeting Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for giving a contradictory version in his letter written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, Harichandan told reporters here, “In the letter to the PM, the Chief Minister rejected the inclusion of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand in the Negotiation Committee. However, in last paragraph of the same missive, the CM mentioned that he is ready for a meeting at the level of the PM if a meeting of the Chief Ministers of the two States is called immediately.”

This contradictory version of the CM exposed the political negotiation between the BJD and the BJP over the Mahanadi controversy, said he.

“To oppose the Negotiation Committee formed by the Centre to resolve the Mahanadi issue is also a political negotiation (between the two parties). Both want to fish in the troubled waters…It’s a conspiracy, and we demand before the CM and the PM that the construction work in the upper catchment area of the Mahanadi should be stopped first sol that an ambience can be created for negotiation between the two States,” said Harichandan.

Meanwhile, attacking senior BJP leader and Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan for his statement over the State’s rejection of the Negotiation Committee, BJD spokesperson Surjya Narayan Patro said Pradhan is acting like the spokesperson of the Chhattisgarh Government with an aim to be re-nominated to the Rajya Sabha next year.

“It’s disheartening that being a son of the soil the Union Minister is talking against the interest of Odisha. The Chhattisgarh Government has supported the Negotiation Committee which has been formed to help it. But it is unfortunate that he (Pradhan) is acting as the spokesperson of Chhattisgarh and speaking in favour of the committee,” Patro told reporters.

“His Rajya Sabha term will come to an end in 2018. Probably because of this, he is supporting the Chhattisgarh Government as he wants to be re-nominated to the Rajya Sabha,” mocked Patro.