Bhubaneswar: The welcome function of more than 1,000 Congress members and former Bhawanipatna MLA Dushmant Naik into the BJD fold turned out to be an amusing event.
In an apparent slip of the tongue, Naik addressed the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik as respected ‘Murkha Mantri’ (Foolish Minister) but was quick to correct himself.
Needless to say it left everyone present baffled and dumbfounded. Though the function continued as planned, the slip of the tongue by the former MLA immediately became the talk of the town.
Under the leadership of Naik, former Congress president of Bhawanipatna Sukanti Behera, 22 sarapanchas, nine ward members, six former sarpanchas and more than 1,000 Congress workers also joined BJD.
The party supremo had earlier welcomed all the newly-joined members and said, “Dushmanta is an ex-MLA and a good organiser. Our party has gained in strength in Bhawanipatna constituency with the joining of thousands of Congress workers.”
