Bhubaneswar: Senior BJD leader and Khandapada MLA Soumya Ranjan Patnaik has struck again. In what could be termed as a ‘veiled attack’ on Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s style of functioning, he questioned the CM’s ‘overdependence’ on two people and exhorted the media to play the third eye for the government.
Addressing a function in Cuttack on Monday, Soumya said bureaucrats and politicians are like the two eyes of a ruler. “For Odisha Chief Minister, they are Bobby (MLA Pranab Prakash Das), who looks after the party affairs, and VK Pandian, the 5T Secretary. Whatever he will see in these two eyes will be his world,” he said.
“However, things can go haywire if these visions get blurred by selfish motives and the CM is convinced into believing what is not right,” he said.
“If the CM starts calling a crow white because that is how his two eyes perceive it, then we are doomed,” he added.
Soumya said that there is no guarantee that these two eyes will always see and tell the truth. “To crosscheck the veracity of the statement of their ministers, the erstwhile kings used to go on ‘Andhari Bije’ (visit in disguise) to get feedback about the administration,” Soumya said and shot a question at the media on whether it was ready to play the role of a third eye.
This is the third time that the BJD leader has targeted the Chief Minister. Soumya had earlier triggered a row over the posters of the Prime Minister and Chief Minister at the COVID vaccination centres. He had also slammed the Chief Minister and the state government over under-reporting of COVID deaths in Odisha in a front-page editorial of Odia daily Sambad on July 1 this year.
Also Read: Soumya Ranjan Stirs Up A Hornets’ Nest, Targets Odisha CM Over ‘Fudging’ Of COVID Deaths
