BHUBANESWAR: The war of words between two senior leaders of the State Congress - OPCC president Niranjan Patnaik and former Union minister Srikant Jena - continued on Sunday with the latter resigning from all posts in the party, including the State executive committee, election and core committees.
While Jena targeted Patnaik again, the latter said resignation of former Union minister from all party posts is his personal choice, but it will have no impact on the party. Issues raised by Jena are not taken seriously by the people, he said and added that action will be taken against those creating indiscipline in the party.
Jena, who seems to have been isolated in the party, informed his decision to resign from all party posts in a letter to Congress chief Rahul Gandhi. “I have informed Rahul Gandhi about my resignation. How long Congress party will be run by members of the Patnaik family,” he said.
Chairperson of the OPCC disciplinary committee and former Chief Minister Hemananda Biswal, who had warned that action will be taken against those creating indiscipline in the party, on Sunday disapproved the decision taken by Jena to resign from all party posts. “It’s not a wise decision to resign from the party posts when Congress is doing well in other States.”
The former Union minister reiterated that he will go to the villages to seek the opinion of people on the issues raised by him, confiscation of the ill-gotten wealth of the mining mafia, chief minister from the OBC and deputy chief minister from SC/ST communities if Congress came to power in Odisha, and expose them (Patnaik family).
Meanwhile, All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge Jitendra Singh is reported to have warned Jena to refrain from creating indiscipline in the party. The former Union minister has been asked to raise issues in party forum and stop raising them in public forum. Jena was removed as the chairman of the State Congress manifesto committee and replaced by former minister Ganeswar Behera on December 6.