BJD workers of Sundargarh and Sambalpur districts have revolted over Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik not including anyone from their districts in his Council of Ministers reconstituted by him on Sunday.
In fact, except Bargarh and Subarnapur, all other districts of western Odisha have been deprived of positions in the Ministry. As a result, MlA of Sambalpur Raseswari Panigrahi, MlA Mangala Kisan of Sundargarh district, MlA Padmanav Behera of Subarnapur and MlA Capt Dibyasingha Mishra of Kalahandi district are an unhappy lot though not venting their feelings in public.
Some functionaries of the party’s Sundargarh unit have threatened to resign en masse in protest against the district not being represented in the Ministry.
“We are very much hurt. We are planning to resign en masse from the Biju Janata Dal,” said BJD Sundargarh district organisation secretary lalatendu Parida speaking to reporters after the swearing-in of the new Ministers here.
Party veteran Rajgangpur MlA, former Minister Mangala Kisan, who had rushed to the State capital from his constituency expecting that the district would find a representation in the Council of Ministers was a dejected man.
“Obviously, if a district doesn’t find representation in the Council of Ministers, the development in that district gets affected. I will try to persuade and convince the aggrieved party functionaries (of the district) not to resign,” said Kisan in his reaction to the district not being represented in the Ministry.
Similar sentiments were expressed by supporters of Sambalpur BJD MlA Dr Raseswari Panigrahi. Dr Panigrahi’s supporters staged a demonstration in Sambalpur protesting against their leader not finding a berth in the Council of Ministers.
“People of Sambalpur are very much hurt since our leader Dr Raseswari Panigrahi was not given a place in the Council of Ministers. We are hopeful that the Chief Minister will now consider our demand,” said a woman supporter of Dr Panigrahi.