BJD Has No Internal Democracy: Jual Oram

Bhubaneswar: Senior BJP leader and Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram on Thursday said there is no internal democracy in the ruling BJD in Odisha.

Commenting on the suspension of Kendrapara BJD MP Baijayant Panda, he said “My personal feeling is that Panda was doing the right thing”.

He said other senior BJD leaders like Damodar Rout, Tathagat Satpathy and Bhartruhari Mahatab and Nagendra Pradhan have given statement against their party. But no action has been taken against them.

The Union minister also said the situation in the erstwhile Janata Dal in 1995 still prevails in the BJD. “In 1995, no party leaders cared for Biju Babu. As a result, the government was unseated,” he pointed out.

Stating that though there were internal rebellions in the BJD earlier, there was no threat to the party, Oram said the ongoing intra-party rebellion in the party will have decisive results.

He also maintained that there is ‘officer raj’ in Odisha. The Chief Minister is blindly listening to 2-3 officers without knowing the ground reality.

Asked about the possibility of the suspended Kendrapara MP joining the BJP, Oram said he has no information.

To a question on whether Panda had cooperated the BJP, he said “Let the BJD come up with any proof to justify its allegations”.