Bhubaneswar: Former Banki MLA Pravat Tripathy on Thursday called out an alleged lie in BJD president Naveen Patnaik’s statement while defending V K Pandian, his close aide, over the party’s volte-face on Waqf Bill voting, the previous day.
Naveen had slammed Tripathy for criticising Pandian for the Rajya Sabha fiasco and said that he does not belong to the party. “I want to state here quite clearly that Pravat Tripathy, ex-MLA, was expelled from the BJD some years ago because he was indicted in the chit-fund case and has spent some years in jail,” he said.
Addressing a presser, the former MLA asserted that his suspension was revoked by the BJD supremo in 2017 and he had even campaigned for the party during 2019 and 2024 elections. “I was a humble member of the party till last evening. During the 2019 elections, the BJD chief, who was then the CM, was present at the meeting which I had addressed. I have also attended party programmes in Cuttack district after COVID pandemic,” he said.
Without naming Pandian, Tripathy further stated that the alleged number 2 in the party had earlier hailed his contribution to the party during the midnight coup in 2012. “If this person has withdrawn from active politics and is not involved in any party activities for the past 10 months then why is the needle of suspicion over the split voting pointing towards him?” he asked.
Tripathy was caught in the crossfire amid the prevailing unrest in BJD over Waqf Bill voting after he held the former bureaucrat responsible for the decline of BJD and the party’s defeat in the 2024 election.
However, BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty asserted that the former MLA is not a member of the party since he did not renew his membership. He also showed a video clip at the media conference where Tripathy had admitted of not doing so.
THE CONTROVERSY
Initially, the regional party had resolved to oppose the Bill, arguing that the Muslim community was not consulted beforehand. However, during the voting in the Rajya Sabha, the BJD’s stance changed, with some MPs voting in favour of the Bill and others abstaining or voting against it, leading to discontent in the party.
Also Read: Rift Growing In BJD Amid ‘Blame Game’ Over Waqf Bill Vote, Naveen Patnaik Issues Gag Order
Pandian’s critics have been alleging that he continues to wield significant influence within the party despite claiming to have withdrawn from active politics. They even claim that BJD Rajya Sabha floor leader Sasmit Patra posted the party’s decision to not issue a whip after receiving the green light from the former bureaucrat. “The party’s U-turn on the Waqf Bill is a direct result of decisions pushed by Naveen’s advisor,” BJD MP Debasihish Samantaray, who abstained from voting on the Bill expressing displeasure over the last-minute change in the party’s stand, claimed in a veiled jab at Pandian, a sentiment echoed by other disgruntled leaders.
Also Read: Cannot Compromise On ‘Odia Asmita’, Debashish Samantaray In Veiled Attack On V K Pandian
Besides shielding Pandian over criticism amid Waqf conjecture, Naveen’s Wednesday presser was seen as an attempt to the quell the dissidence in the party as he also came down heavily on party leaders, who had met at a hotel instead of Sankha Bhawan to discuss the issue.
