Bhubaneswar: Senior Congress leaders Tara Prasad Bahinipati and Ramesh Jena stoked a controversy on Monday by remaining absent from the party’s legislature party meeting convened by the newly-appointed CLP leader Ramchandra Kadam.
The absence of the two senior leaders indicated that all was not well within the groupism-marred Congress, which has been struggling to stay relevant in Odisha politics after being pushed to the third position in the state.
Upon his arrival at the Assembly, Bahinipati spoke to reporters and feigned ignorance about the CLP meeting. “No one called me to inform about it. I do not know anything about it. Who all attended and who were absent?,” he asked, avoided the questions, and left.
On the other hand, Jena was not available for comments.
Apart from Bahinipati and Jena, rest of the 12 Congress MLAs attended the meeting to discuss the party strategy for the upcoming session.
It may be noted here that the Congress dissolved the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee and dismissed all state office-bearers, including OPCC president Sarat Pattanayak on Sunday, indicating a complete overhaul of the organisation, in the aftermath of the recent poll debacle.
Also Read: Odisha Unit Of Congress Dissolved In Poll Loss Aftermath; Rama Kadam Appointed CLP Leader
The All India Congress Committee (AICC) appointed Kadam as the CLP leader, ignoring Bahinipati, a five-time-MLA, who had staked his claim by stating a few days back that he deserved the post.
Basudevpur MLA Ashok Das has been appointed as the deputy leader of the CLP and Rajgangpur legislator CS Raazen Ekka as chief whip of the party.
Also Read: OPCC Dissolution: Who Will Now Lead Congress In Odisha?
