Bhubaneswar: The war of words between Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi further intensified on Wednesday over the performance of the Bhubaneswar MP in the last five years.
While the Chief Minister made fresh allegation against Aparajita accusing her of obstructing projects, the BJP MP once again challenged Naveen for a public debate on the issue.
During his election campaign for BJD candidates in Khurda, Naveen targeted the BJP leader again from the dais and alleged that the Bhubaneswar MP had tried to halt the work in Puri and Lingaraj Temple transformation projects.
Reacting sharply to Naveen’s allegation that no development work was carried out by the MP in Bhubaneswar in the last five years, Aparajita said she was shocked that a ‘respectable’ chief minister of 24 years was targeting a first-time MP without verifying the facts.
Stating that the BJD camp is hit by pessimism, BJP’s MP candidate for Bhubaneswar for 2024 polls said it seems the Chief Minister is worried.
Repeating her challenge to the Chief Minister for a debate on the issue of development work done during her tenure as Bhubaneswar MP, Aparajita said she had sought time and venue for the debate.
Already 24 hours have elapsed, but no response has so far been received from the CM for the debate, the Bhubaneswar MP said while extending a fresh invitation for a debate.
Stating that she has been sending her performance report to Naveen every year, the Bhubaneswar MP said, “The chief minister might not have seen those reports. He just read out what was written by the coterie.”
The BJP leader also strongly refuted Naveen’s allegation that she tried to stop Ekamra and Lingaraj temple transformation project. “I have never objected to the heritage project. I have not discussed anything on the project. Rather, work has been done with a lot of funds from ASI. The allegation is baseless,” she said.
