Twitter War: BJP Crosses Swords With BJD Over Violence In Odisha

Bhubaneswar: Odisha BJP on Thursday reacted sharply to the BJD allegation that Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan is ignorant of the ground realities in the state.

A day after ruling BJD’s organisational secretary Pranab Prakash Das made the allegation in tweets, general secretary of BJP Prithviraj Harichandan, rebutted in a series of tweets.

“Unlike chief minister Naveen Patnaik, who is ignorant of the incidents in his state, Dharmendra Bhai constantly remains in touch with local leaders and is aware of all incidents that take place in Odisha, though he stays in New Delhi,” said Harichandan in a tweet.

On the issue of Chilika MLA Prashant Jagdev, Das had tweeted that police have filed a forgery case against the legislator for using a vehicle with a duplicate registration number. “Odisha Police is taking stern actions against all accused in the criminal cases. Probably, your party leaders are not informing you about the developments,” Das tweeted.

In his reaction to this, Harichandan said, “The registration number of the MLA’s vehicle was changed after it was seized and was in custody of police. It shows the working ways of the police under your government.”

The BJP leader further alleged that the state government under the leadership of Naveen Patnaik is responsible for the violent and criminal incidents. “The chief minister has been protecting BJD’s leaders in spite of being aware of their involvement in criminal cases,” he said.

Harichandan said the truth behind four murder cases that took place in the chief minister’s constituency Hinjili is yet to come to light. “The people of the state are yet to be told about the progress of those cases and status of the investigation. Such cases have put a dark spot on the efficiency of the police. Is chief minister aware of it?” he asked.

On the tweet of Das about rising violence in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, Harichandan said due to patronage of criminals by BJD, Odisha is heading towards lawlessness like West Bengal. “It would be better, if your leader takes steps to maintain law and order for the peace-loving people of Odisha instead of making baseless allegations against opposition party,” he added.