Bhubaneswar: Confirming the resignation of Prasad Harichandan as the president of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC), senior Congress leader Sura Routray on Thursday maintained that some senior party leaders were desperately after Harichandan from day one of his appointment.
Briefing media persons here, Routray said his son-in-law had become an eyesore to some senior party leaders from the day of his appointment as OPCC president by the then Congress Supremo Sonia Gandhi.
He said Harichandan has sent his resignation letter to the AICC president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday evening owning moral responsibility for the party’s dismal show in the Bijepur byelection.
“Prasad Harichandan is an educated person and a gentleman. His organizing ability is very good. He has tendered his resignation as OPCC president for his party’s flop show in the byelection under his leadership,” Routray pointed out.
Lashing out at some of his senior party colleagues, he said they had tried their best to defame and demoralize Harichandan. “These leaders, during Panchayat elections last year, had met the AICC president and demanded his ouster. Due to non-cooperation of these leaders, the performance of the Congress in the panchayat election was dismal. Besides, prior to Bijepur byelection, some leaders had met the BJD supremo and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at his house in New Delhi,” Routray claimed.
He further said the Congress had chosen Pranaya Sahu as the right candidate for Bijepur byelection as he is a grassroots worker and has worked a lot for the farmers of his area. “But three senior leaders had conspired his defeat with an intention that this would result in the ouster of Harichandan from his post,” Rourtay averred.
In his statement, former OPCC president Niranjan Patnaik said the AICC did not assign responsibility to any senior party leaders to look after Bijepur bypoll.
Expressing surprise on Routray’s clarification on the resignation of the OPCC president, Patnaik said he never reacts to any of the statements of Routray who is one of the senior-most party leaders.
Thanking the outgoing OPCC president for tendering his resignation, Congress chief whip Tara Prasad Bahinipati said the Congress supremo Rahul Gandhi should accepts his resignation and appoint an appropriate candidate preferably Niranjan Patnaik as the OPCC chief.
Replying to Routray’s allegations, he said Prasad Harichandan speaks through the mouth of his father-in-law.
Stating that the PCC chief had provided a meagre Rs 15 lakh to the party candidate Pranaya Sahu, Bahinipati claimed that none of the Congress leaders had tried to defeat their party candidate as they had tried their best for his victory.
