Cuttack: After Pramila Mallik and Prashant Jagadev, another BJD MLA has landed in a controversy. This time, it’s Pramod Mallick, who represents Niali constituency in Odisha’s Cuttack district.
Some audio clips have gone viral in which Mallick is purportedly heard threatening to withdraw benefits to voters who have allegedly distanced themselves from the ruling party.
In three separate audio clips, he can be heard shouting expletives in Odia while asking some people to return their mobile phones, which was supposedly given to them to carry out BJD work.
While BJD has won the Niali panchayat samiti post, the BJP has won the Kantapada block chairperson’s post. This has upset Mallick and was apparently behind his outbursts in the audio clips.
Mallick was angry after a local BJP leader ‘liked’ a Facebook post by BJD’s Kantapada block digital coordinator Sidhanta Mohanty. In the audio clips, the MLA is purportedly heard threatening to withdraw rice card and mobile phones.
Ahead of the panchayat polls, Pramila Mallik, BJD MLA from Binjharpur in Jajpur district and also the government chief whip, landed in a controversy when she told an election rally that if they do not vote for party candidates, they would be denied benefits under state government schemes like old age pension, ration cards and pucca houses.
The State Election Commission (SEC) debarred Mallik from campaigning for two days for violating the poll code of conduct.
In a rerun of Lakhimpur Kheri, Chilika MLA Prashant Jagadev on Saturday ploughed his SUV into a crowd near Banpur block office in Odisha’s Khurda district, where elections to block chairman post were under way.
A total of 22 people, including 10 police personnel, were injured. The legislator was seriously injured after angry villagers caught and assaulted him. Villagers also smashed his SUV.
