BHUBANESWAR: A day after senior BJP leader Bijoy Mohapatra took a diametrically opposite view on Mahanadi issue, party’s national general secretary Arun Singh on Monday cautioned party leaders to maintain discipline while making statements on such matters.Without naming Mohapatra, Singh said no one is above party. The party is the right forum to express individual opinion on important issues. The primary responsibility of party workers is to maintain discipline and no one should work in a way that will prove detrimental to the party interest.
Singh said this while responding to queries on contrary views within the party on the Mahanadi controversy here.Maintaining that dialogue is the best possible way to resolve the inter-state dispute between Odisha and Chhattisgarh, Singh said Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is dragging feet while the Centre has taken the initiative for an amicable solution through negotiations.
“The State Government is trying to politicise the issue when the Centre is making all possible efforts to find a solution to it. Once the Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill 2017 is passed, it will benefit all affected States as the new mechanism will ensure that river water disputes are resolved in a time-bound manner in three years,” he said.
After his two-day tour to Angul and Dhenkanal districts, Singh said the ruling BJD is trying to divert the attention of the people as it has failed on all fronts.Ealier, Union Petroleum Minister Dharmedra Pradhan had said some people are spreading wrong information claiming that the Centre has refused to set up the tribunal, either due to their ignorance or for political purpose.Mohapatra, on Sunday, hit out at the Centre for maintaining double standards on the Mahanadi issue. He not only blamed the Centre for being partisan but also felt that a conspiracy has been hatched against Odisha.