Expelled BJD leader and chairman of the Odisha Jana Morcha (OJM) Pyarimohan Mohapatra came in for sharp criticism from the BJD leaders at the party’s 15th Foundation Day celebrations here on Wednesday.
There was competition among the senior leaders at the function held at the party headquarters here to praise party supremo Naveen Patnaik and criticise Pyarimohan without, of course, taking his name.
Health and Family Welfare Minister Damodar Rout described him (Pyarimohan) as a creeper without roots who depends on a big tree to survive. Now that he has been thrown away, he will either rot or burn. “No harm will come to us as we are under a big tree (Naveen),” Rout said adding that spreading of canards against the Chief Minister will not work.
On earlier foundation day celebrations at the party office he used to sit either to the left or right of the Chief Minister forcibly, Rout said and asked partymen not to talk about him so much. Finance Minister Prasanna Acharya said BJD will overcome all the challenges before it. “There are some who were with us but are now speaking the language of Congress. They should be ashamed of this’’, he said.
Referring to the ‘Naveen hatao campaign’ launched by the detractors, Acharya said instead, the Chief Minister talks about garibi hatao. “The BJD is not against individuals but against forces who do not want development of the State,” he said.
Former minister Prafulla Ghadei said negative campaign against Naveen will never work. “The negative campaign launched by some will never catch the imagination of the people as they know the benefits from a development oriented government led by Naveen,” he said.
Former minister AU Singhdeo maintained that Naveen will be the Chief Minister for a fourth time. The BJD will win election next election despite conspiracies against the party, he said and asked partymen to be with the workers.
President of the Biju Yuva Janata Dal (BYJD) Sanjay Dasburma and former minister Ranendra Pratap Swain called upon partymen to be alert and foil all conspiracies against the party. These conspiracies against Naveen will never work, they said.
Several other leaders including party MP Prasanna Patsani and MLAs Debasis Samantray, Ashok Panda, Bhagirathi Badjena, Bijoy Mohanty, president of the Biju Mahila Janata Dal Pramila Mallik and deputy chairman of the Planning Board Surendra Nath Nayak were confident of a BJD victory in the next election.