Bhubaneswar: Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MP Debashish Samantaray on Monday took an indirect dig at fellow Rajya Sabha member Sulata Deo over her social media post amid the raging Waqf Bill voting storm.
“Organisational polls are currently on and the BJD president Naveen Patnaik has advised party leaders to maintain unity and discipline. There has been a lot of discussion in the media on possible action against those defying the party line and I would not like to comment on one individual,” he told reporters.
Calling her a junior member in the party, Samantaray said that they have drawn the attention of Naveen to such acts of ‘indiscipline’. “The senior leaders are committed to the party and making all efforts to maintain cohesion and discipline,” he asserted.
This came a couple of days after Deo in a social media post targeted BJD MP Munna (Muzibulla) Khan. She claimed that the BJD supremo had categorically asked the MPs, including Munna Khan and Debashish Samantaray, on April 7 to vote as per their conscience on Waqf Bill in the Rajya Sabha.
Also Read: Rift Growing In BJD Amid ‘Blame Game’ Over Waqf Bill Vote, Naveen Patnaik Issues Gag Order
In the past, Deo had slammed Samantaray for creating unpleasant situations in Naveen Niwas, referring to ‘Pandian Go Back’ and ‘Pandian Hatao, BJD Bachao’ slogans which were raised when Munna Khan along with his supporters met the party chief at his residence, demanding disciplinary action against BJD Rajya Sabha floor leader Sasmit Patra for voting in favour of the contentious legislation.
She also accused Samantaray of unnecessarily dragging the name of former bureaucrat V K Pandian in the Waqf controversy, and claimed that the MP was nursing an old grudge against him.
Also Read: Cannot Compromise On ‘Odia Asmita’, Debashish Samantaray In Veiled Attack On V K Pandian
