BHUBANESWAR: Mudslinging and rhetoric between the BJD and the BJP continue unabated over the Tuesday’s shoe attack on Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at an election rally at Barpalli in Bargarh district even as police contradicted its earlier version on the political motive of the accused. While members of the BJD staged a demonstration near the statue of Mahatma Gandhi at Janata Maidan protesting the shoe attack on the Chief Minister, the BJP on Wednesday alleged that the incident was the handiwork of the ruling party to gain advantage ahead of the elections.
Condemning the attack on the Chief Minister, BJD spokesperson Sasmit Patra said the attack was orchestrated by the BJP. “We are following Gandhian ideology of peace and non-violence while the saffron party believes in hooliganism and goondaism. This is a peaceful demonstration against the violent act of the BJP,” Sasmit added.
On the other hand, Union Minister Jual Oram described the incident as a political gimmick to mislead the people for electoral benefits. However, they will not succeed by putting the blame on the BJP as the voters are well aware of the BJD’s motives. “The police knew that the youth is mentally unstable as he had past records of showing black flags to the Chief Minister. They should have taken him into preventive custody. The police, which did nothing, are now playing tricks,” Oram said.
Condemning the incident, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the shoe attack on the Chief Minister is a glaring example of failure of police intelligence. The contradictory versions of the police on the political affiliation of the accused identified as Kartik Meher have exposed the dirty games of the ruling BJD.
Countering the BJP allegations, BJD spokesperson Pratap Deb said the accused is mentally stable and a member of the RSS. This is a well-planned action of the BJP. “What we have gathered from the social media is that Meher had clicked his selfies in RSS uniform,” Deb claimed showing the pictures of the youth. Meanwhile, a delegation of the BJD, led by Revenue Minister Maheswar Mohanty, met Director-General of Police R P Sharma and submitted a memorandum demanding stern action against the accused. A BJP team led by Samir Mohanty and Sajjan Sharma also met the DGP and submitted a memorandum.