BHUBANESWAR: Resignation of Rajya Sabha member Mamata Mohanta from the Upper House of Parliament as well as BJD on Wednesday caught the regional party off guard. The BJD expressed shock over her sudden resignation and claimed Mohanta’s departure is part of a larger conspiracy orchestrated by a national party to weaken its position in the RS and pave way for one of its leaders to be elected.
Describing Mohanta’s move as a political conspiracy, BJD chief whip in Odisha Assembly Pramila Mallik alleged that a particular national party has hatched conspiracy to send one of its leaders to Rajya Sabha. “Mohanta was sent to RS from Mayurbhanj by BJD chief Naveen Patnaik to represent her community and work for them. She has betrayed the party and the community.” When asked to name the national party, Mallik said, “Everybody will know about the party when one of its leaders will be sent to the RS in her place.”
After Mohanta’s resignation, BJD’s strength in RS has come down to eight from nine.