Denied berths in the new Ministry, many sulking senior BJD leaders have expressed their discontent for ignoring them while distributing Ministerial berths.
Some of them like Surjya Narayan Patro, Maheswar Mohanty and Pravat Tripathy were so peeved that they skipped the swearing-in ceremony of the new Council of Ministers at the Raj Bhavan on Wednesday.
Some leaders tried to sugarcoat their disappointment by repeating the hackneyed statement “It is the prerogative of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik” while others made no effort to hide their resentment.
Patro said he “did not feel like” attending the ceremony after being denied a Ministerial berth. Puri strongman Maheswar Mohanty reportedly made his disappointment known in no uncertain terms when he chose not to accompany Naveen Patnaik when the Chief Minister visited the Jagannath Temple hours before the swearing-in ceremony.
A senior BJD leader from Baleswar district said, “I have no problems with the Chief Minister denying me a place in the Ministry, but he should not have ignored my district completely. What will I tell the peopleIJ We keep talking of the step-motherly attitude of the Centre. What is this if not step-motherly treatment towards BaleswarIJ”
Senior leader Bed Prakash Agrawal, who was considered a strong contender for a Cabinet berth, played it safe, saying the final decision in such matters always rests with the Chief Minister.