New Delhi/Bhubaneswar: BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya heaped praises on MP from Odisha’s Puri Pinaki Misra, who spoke on behalf of the BJD in the no-confidence motion debate.
The best intervention of the day during the ‘No Confidence Motion’ came from BJD MP Pinaki Misra, he tweeted while quoting a few lines from the speech.
“…I have always believed that the Congress party is adept at snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. They are also very adept at cutting their nose to spite their face. They know that every time the PM has got up to speak on the floor of this House, he has pushed the Congress party through the shredder… This defies common sense, logic, political sense…”
The BJD, which has 12 MPs in the Lower House, opposed the motion against the Narendra Modi government on the Manipur violence, saying what happened in the state is due to “legacy issues” running back several decades. “I cannot support a no-confidence motion against the central government today, even though we are against the BJP as a political party,” Misra said.
He added that “anti-Congressism” was the foundation of the BJD and it was not possible for his party “to support any motion brought on by the Congress”. “We were born out of the need to oppose the corrupt government of the Congress… About why the Biju Janata Dal feel that this is a misplaced motion, totally out of place… let me now come to the merits of this particular no-confidence motion that they have allegedly brought on one count alone that is to bring the prime minister to the house that seems to be the reason….”
Also Read: BJD Opposes No-Trust Motion Against Centre, Expresses Gratitude To Modi Govt For Support To Odisha
The BJD MP said his party leader and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik does not believe in “needlessly picking quarrels” with the Centre. “Given the fiscal structure, it was impossible to survive by constantly bickering with the Union government. It does not serve the people of the state.”
He added that the regional party was grateful for many things the central government has done for Odisha.
Misra further said it is for the people of this country to decide if a lack of statement on Manipur from PM Modi was right or wrong. “The people of the country will decide what they think of the PM not speaking on Manipur. You don’t bring a no-confidence motion for it. You don’t disrupt the House needlessly. The ruling party is happiest as Bills can be passed in the din and the minister does not have to reply.”
The best intervention of the day during the ‘No Confidence Motion’ came from BJD MP Pinaki Misra. He said, “…I have always believed that the Congress party is adept at snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. They are also very adept at cutting their nose to spite their face.… pic.twitter.com/XxCkaM0aVa
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) August 8, 2023
Notably, the motion was brought on July 26. Though the government won’t lose the vote as his party and its allies have a majority in Parliament, opposition leaders say the debate will force PM Modi to speak on ongoing ethnic clashes in Manipur.
It is for the second consecutive day the BJP praised the ruling party of Odisha and its CM. During a podcast with ANI, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had called Naveen a ‘gentleman’ who did not retort to abusive language to oppose the Centre, while stressing that BJP was the main opposition in the state.
Also Read: [Watch] Dhamendra Pradhan Talks About ‘Gentleman’ CM Naveen Patnaik, Odisha’s Culture & Cuisine
This change in the BJP’s tune regarding the BJD government, just nine months ahead of the next Assembly elections, was also seen during Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s two-day visit to Odisha, soon after the regional party voted in favour of the Modi government on the contentious NCT Bill involving Delhi in the Lok Sabha.
In a rare show of bonhomie, Shah hailed Naveen for his “popularity”, while noting that he had set the record for being the longest CM of the state. Shah also praised him over the fall in Maoist menace in the state and his government’s efficient disaster management. “I would like to thank Naveenji for helping the Centre implement all the disaster management initiatives in the state. The state government also implemented its own initiatives… If two governments work in tandem, then natural calamities can also be contained.”
In the closed-door meetings with BJP leaders in Odisha, he, however, urged them to “expose corruption and irregularities” in the Naveen Patnaik government.
Also Read: Amit Shah Calls Upon BJP’s Odisha Leaders To Fight Against Corruption
The Congress had earlier hit out the BJD, saying that the regional party had “surrendered” before the BJP, over its support to the NDA government in Parliament. The grand old party had also accused Odisha’s ruling party of being “hand in glove” with the BJP when it did not join the opposition meeting in Patna in June.
While officially claiming to have maintained equidistance from both BJP and Congress, the ruling regional party has been supporting the Narendra Modi dispensation at the Centre in almost all issues since 2019. The BJD had lent its support to the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill, 2019 (Reorganisation Bill) and bills proposing changes to the UAPA and the RTI Acts and criminalising triple talaq. The BJD also nominated Ashwini Vaishnav, to the Rajya Sabha, on the request of Prime Minister and the Home Minister.
