Pradesh Congress Committee president Niranjan Patnaik on Thursday said the BJD’s support to the NDA’s Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman candidate has further revealed the close relationship between Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and the NDA and the BJP.
On many occasions, the BJD and its leader Patnaik said that they were maintaining equal distance from the BJP and the Congress and the BJP was terming the Congress as the ‘B’ team of the BJD.
Now, the real faces of the BJD and the BJP have been unmasked. They are two sides of a coin, said the PCC chief.
He said Prime Minister Modi and party president Amit Shah have never uttered a single word against Naveen Patnaik and vice versa.
Severe malnutrition cases have been reported in Nagada, Malkangiri and other many places of the State, but Union Government officials have praised the State Government for providing best healthcare facilities.
Farmers are committing suicide, but Odisha is being honoured with the Krushi Karman award, ridiculed Niranjan Patnaik.
Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister Srikant Jena also said, “The BJD’s support to the NDA RS Deputy Chairman candidate has proved that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has returned to the folds of the BJP and the RSS.”
Jena said the BJD’s support also indicates that Patnaik is now unsure of winning the 2019 elections.
BJP leader and Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said RS Deputy Chairman should be elected on a consensus, but that could not be possible due to Opposition parties.
“It is not only the BJD but other parties, which oppose the BJP in their respective States, have also extended support to the NDA candidate. We thank them.”
However, he stated that there would be no alliance between the BJP and the BJD.
The BJP would fight the 2019 elections in the State on its own.