The candidature of former bureaucrat Ashwini Vaishnaw, who has been nominated by the BJP and supported by the BJD, for a Rajya Sabha seat from Odisha continued to spark more controversy on Sunday.
While the Congress insisted terming Vaishnaw’s candidature as another instance of a “secret” bonhomie between the BJP and the BJD, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan commented that it is, instead, an “open understanding” on the part of the two parties.
Pradhan said BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has already stated that Vaishnaw has been nominated by the BJP as a BJD-backed candidate after Patnaik held talks about it with Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah during his recent visit to New Delhi.
In another row over Vaishnaw, Congress leader Narasingha Mishra fired a salvo at him questioning if the Parliament Upper House candidate is in mining scam and wondering why the Central and State Governments have not referred his case to the CBI.
Mishra also questioned why a non-Odia has been made a Rajya Sabha candidate from the State.
BJP leader Damodar Rout, apparently unhappy over being ignored by his party, came out saying that Vaishnaw was a director in a mining company.
Then asked why the BJP chose Vaishnaw as its Rajya Sabha nominee, Rout remarked that his is not part of the party’s deciding authorities.