Three former senior NCP leaders, who had joined BJD, justified the merger of the NCP legislature party with the ruling party on Saturday.
Addressing a Press conference here, State BJD Executive Body member Sidhartha Das, BJD State Council member Manu Choudhury and Nityananda Mohanty asserted that the State NCP unit en masse merged in BJD following adoption of a unanimous resolution at its emergency meeting that was held on June 3, 2012 under the chairmanship of NCP vice president Kulamani Deo.
But, nominated president of the party Utkal Keshari Parida had opted not to be present in the meeting. Das, who claimed to be the then general secretary of the NCP, said that he himself had moved the resolution to merge the State unit of the NCP with the BJD. The then NCP legislative Party consisting of four members Amar Prasad Satapathy, Prashanta Nanda, Navin Nanda and Ramachandra Hansda as per the direction had unanimously resolved to merge with the BJD.
Accordingly, the four former MlAs of the NCP expressed their desire to join BJD and also gave a petition to the Speaker of their intention of merging with the BJD on June 5, 2012.
The merger of State NCP unit was done maintaining democratic principles as per the party’s constitution, asserted Das, adding that since the party had fought 2009 elections forging an alliance with the BJD under the leadership of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, the merger was a formality to fulfill aspiration of the people of the State.
Das and Choudhury said following the arbitrary attitude of the then nominated president Parida on party’s stand on various issues and the subsequent NCP Central party’s double standards adopted over the candidature of PA Sangama as candidate for the post of President of India, the emergency meeting on June 3, 2012 had finalised the future course of action unanimously.
Making a scathing attack on Parida, the petitioner who is now seeking disqualification of the membership of the four former NCP MlAs for joining BJD, Das said as the entire NCP unit was merged with the BJD and the Central party had disbanded the NCP in Odisha, Parida’s claim to be the president of the NCP was ridiculous.