Some unidentified miscreants ransacked the Congress Bhavan here late on Wednesday night. According to sources, the assailants damaged flower vases, window glasses at the Congress State headquarters. Besides, they also damaged the CCTV cameras installed at the Congress Bhavan.
Notably, activists of the Congress Youth wing were scheduled to protest against AICC leader and Odisha in-charge BK Hariprasad’s visit to the Congress Bhavan on Wednesday. However, no disturbances were reported during his visit.
It may be recalled that angry over non-representation of AICC at the funeral of senior Congress leader lalatendu (lulu) Bidyadhar Mohapatra, some National Students Union of India (NSUI) Odisha unit and Youth Congress activists had on November 9 forcibly entered a Bhubaneswar-based hotel where Hariprasad, his deputy Subhankar Sarkar and PCC president Prasad Harichandan were holding a meeting.
Following the incident, party State Chhatra Congress president Itish Pradhan had suspended spokesperson of State Chhatra Congress spokesperson Ajay Panda from the party while the NSUI suspended State vice-president Kiran Sahoo for misbehaviour to Hariprasad.
In another development, the suspended leaders along with other Chhatra and Youth Congress members met leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra and other party MlAs Chiranjib Biswal and Tara Prasad Bahinipati and former PCC president Niranjan Patnaik on Thursday.
“Congress is not anybody’s paternal property. We are protesting the injustice meted out by the AICC to the departed lulubhai. We will not withdraw from our stand that lulubhai was neglected in the party till his death,” said Kiran Sahoo.