The tussle between the BJD and the BJP for capturing power in Odisha ahead of the 2019 elections intensified further when Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik refrained from attending the Dhamra lNG (liquefied natural gas) Terminal groundbreaking ceremony on Saturday.
Significantly, Patnaik decided to stay away from the major event of the State late on Friday night though he had earlier given consent to be part of the ceremony.
While Patnaik himself did not assign any reason for his decision, the ruling BJD blamed it on what it said “politicisation” of the event.
BJD spokesperson Pratap Keshari Deb said, “The Chief Minister had earlier decided to attend the ceremony as it was a Government programme. But it was made out to be a political programme.”
Deb, however, did not say who politicised the event though it was hinted by the BJD that the BJP did it.
In fact, the BJD MlAs of the local Bhadrak district including Minister Bijayshree Routray, who had also been invited to the function, kept away from it.
Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who laid the foundation-stone of the project, remarked that he was sorry that the Chief Minister abstained from a State’s major development programme. He had spoken to the Chief Minister and invited him to the function, he added.
Moreover, some BJD posters with the Chief Minister’s photos were found torn in the Dhamra area.
While BJD Chandbali MlA Byomkesh Ray alleged involvement of BJP workers behind the tearing of the posters, BJP leader Manmohan Samal denied the allegation saying he did not find any poster being torn.