Bhubaneswar: Senior BJP leader and Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday came down heavily on the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) for its tacit understanding with the Congress to retain power in the forthcoming Assembly elections in Odisha next year.
“The BJD which had come to the power in Odisha on the basis non-Congress politics, is now hand in glove with the Congress through tacit understanding to retain power. The ruling party will make it open in the coming days, Pradhan said after his arrival at the Biju Patnaik International Airport from Bhopal a day after he was elected to Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh.
Pradhan was accorded rousing welcome by his party colleagues and workers soon after he arrived at the city airport.
Speaking on the occasion, Pradhan said the Prime Minister has honoured the people of Odisha by sending him to the Upper House.
Assuring the people, he said he would neither allow the fair name of Odisha to be besmirched at the world stage nor belittle the Odia race under any circumstances.
Commenting on the statement of the BJD supremo and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik that the recent defeat in the Lok Sabha byelections in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar is a clear indication that the BJP is sinking, Pradhan said the BJD has become audacious after the Bijepur byelection.
“The victory of the BJD in the Bijepur bypoll is like a candle which gives maximum light before it is extinguished,” he observed.
Pradhan is the first Odia to be elected to Rajya Sabha twice from outside his home state. Earlier, he was elected to the Upper House from Bihar.
