‘Sanskar’, Retorts Aparajita To Speculation Over Her Greeting Odisha CM

Bhubaneswar: For the first time since the COVID-19 outbreak, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who is on a three-day tour of the national capital, visited Parliament on Tuesday to meet the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MPs and several other leaders.

Among others, Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi was clicked greeting the CM, who is also the president of the ruling BJD in the state, at the Central Hall of Parliament.

As the picture went viral and media began speculating the possibility of the MP shifting allegiance to BJD, Aparajita tweeted, saying that this is what our ‘SANSKAR’ is all about.

“There may be differences in our political ideologies, but we must not forget to extend basic courtesies to one & all. Saw Hon’ble CM, Odisha, sitting in the Central Hall of Parliament yesterday. Paid respects to him in line with our tradition,” she added.

The speculation gained grounds since the BJP MP had blamed the party leadership in the state for the back-to-back debacle in the panchayat and urban local bodies (ULBs) polls.

A former bureaucrat, Aparajita took the political plunge in November 2018 by joining the BJP and won the election from Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha seat by defeating former Mumbai police chief Arup Patnaik of BJD by a margin of 23,839 votes.

Also Read: Quit & Join Politics If You So Want, Aparajita Dares Odisha IAS Officers

The BJP MP has since been a vocal critic of the CM, slamming him for his model of governance and the deteriorating law and order situation in the state.

Recently, she attacked the ruling BJD for the unabashed use of money and muscle power to win the mandate of the people in Panchayat and ULB elections even after staying in power for more than two decades.

Notably, Naveen was welcomed by all BJD MPs at the entry gate of Parliament. He then held a meeting with his party MPs from both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. He had earlier told the media that he would have a meeting with Union Ministers to follow up on various issues of Odisha which are pending with the central government.

Also Read: [In Pics] Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Arrives At Parliament; What’s On The Agenda?