Bhubaneswar: Ridiculing opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD), veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Odisha MLA Jayanarayan Mishra on Thursday said the ‘crisis-hit’ regional party should continue to exist for many years and face humiliation.
Speaking to reporters in Bhubaneswar, the former Minister said he does not want BJD to be finished completely. “I don’t want to kill the enemy. One needs both friends as well as enemies. BJP does not want to finish BJD,” he said.
Stating that some people should be allowed to remain in BJD, the firebrand BJP leader said it will be sad if the regional party gets completely disintegrated and destroyed.
To a question, Mishra said if people from BJD want to come and join BJP they are welcome as the saffron party needs them in Rajya Sabha.
The veteran leader reiterated his claim that BJD will be finished the day BJP blows a whistle. If BJP wants, not a single person will be left in BJD and even Naveen Patnaik will not hesitate to come to us., he claimed, adding that Naveen will be left with no option if all others desert him.
Countering Mishra’s claims, BJD MLA Sarada Jena said that the regional party will never be empty. On the other hand, BJP has lost popularity in the country. BJD will become stronger if more opportunistic leaders leave the party, he said.