Senior Congress leader Soumya Ranjan Patnaik has openly revolted against new Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Jayadev Jena, who replaced his elder brother Niranjan Patnaik as the State party chief last week.
Soumya Patnaik on Tuesday indirectly blamed AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi for installing Jena in place of Niranjan Patnaik. Rahul Gandhi took the decision apparently without taking the ground realities into consideration or being misinformed, he told a local TV channel.
He referred to Jena’s reported statement at Sunday’s meeting at the Congress Bhawan here that he (Jena) was removed from the post of PCC president shortly before the 2009 elections due to a “conspiracy” of BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in his own party’s interests. Soumya Patnaik obviously sought to state that Niranjan Patnaik has been dislodged from the post because of such a “conspiracy”.
He alleged that organisational changes in the State Congress are taking place at the behest of the “enemies” of the party.
On the other hand, Jayadev Jena alleged that Soumya Patnaik is making baseless statements. Patnaik was not present at the Congress Bhawan meeting held for his (Jena’s) felicitation, he added.
Soumya Patnaik’s offensive against Jena, according to observers, suggest that the Patnaik family has turned dissidents in the party after Niranjan Patnaik’s ouster from the helm of affairs.
The Patnaik family in the party, which also includes Soumya Patnaik’s father-in-law JB Patnaik and mother-in-law Jayanti, is now apprehensive about getting party tickets to contest in the coming elections, the observers feel.