BHUBANESWAR: The state Congress on Monday threatened to gherao Naveen Niwas if BJD president Naveen Patnaik did not expel his political secretary Santrupt Misra from the party within seven days for comparing former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru with VK Pandian.
Addressing a media conference here, state president Bhakta Charan Das said the BJD has been formed in the name of former chief minister Biju Patnaik who was a close aide of Nehru. Biju Babu respected Nehru. Misra who does not have any political background and was an employee of a private company, has compared him with Pandian.
The OPCC presient alleged Misra dared to make such a comparison only because of Naveen Babu who defended his trusted aide after the Waqf Bill controversy. “Naveen Babu came out to defend Pandian but he had no time to pull up his political secretary for such type of a statement,” he said.
“I demand that Naveen Babu should expel Misra from the party within seven days or else we will gherao Naveen Niwas. Congress cannot tolerate such disrespect towards Nehru,” he added.
Misra while speaking to a private TV channel had compared Nehru with Pandian. “People are discussing about Nehru, the wrong done by him even after 60 years. Similarly, we have now Pandian, an equivalent of Nehru in Odisha. That is why people are discussing about him though he has played a great role in the development of Odisha,” he had stated.