Congress Only Opposition Party In Odisha: Niranjan

Bhubaneswar: The Congress on Saturday claimed that it is the only opposition party in Odisha.

“The people of Odisha are now convinced that there is a serene bonhomie between the BJD and the BJP. To hoodwink the people, the BJD cleverly raises its time-honoured ‘central apathy’ slogan while the saffron party criticizes the ruling regional party at regular intervals. However, on important matters, both the parties have come together on several occasions in the past. From this, it is now clear that the Congress is the only opposition party in Odisha,” Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Niranjan Patnaik told mediapersons here.

Citing instances to justify his contention, Niranjan said that the BJD during the discussion on no-confidence motion brought against the BJP-led NDA government in Parliament on July 20 had preferred to stage a walk-out on the pretext that participating in the motion will not benefit Odisha as the state has been a victim of the central apathy since last 14 years.

“But the bottom line is that the ruling party took the decision as it felt that lest there would be the occasion during the deliberation when it has to criticize the NDA government,” he pointed out.

The OPCC chief also said the decision of the BJD not to attend the oath-taking ceremony of the Congress-led alliance government in Karnataka is another instance of its loyalty to the BJP.

“The intimacy between the two parties came out in the open during the election of the deputy chairperson of Rajya Sabha on August 9 when the BJD announced its support to the NDA-backed Janata Dal-United candidate Harivansh Narayan Singh,” Niranjan pointed out.

Lashing out at the BJD on its ‘equi-distance’ stand, the Congress leader said the ruling party justified its decision to support the JD-U candidate by stating that the BJD and the JD-U were born from the ideologies of Jayaprakash Narayan.

“Has the BJD forgotten the language used by former Prime Minister and JD-U leader Chandrasekhar while berating the legendary leader Biju Patnaik?” Niranjan questioned.

Asked as to why the Congress president Rahul Gandhi did not seek the support of Naveen Patnaik, Niranjan said as the stand of the BJD during the no-confidence motion in Parliament was clear, he saw no reason for requesting him.

Maintaining that the BJP is not sincere about developing Odisha, he said the BJD should forge an alliance with the Congress if it hopes to take the state forward.