BHUBANESWAR: The Congress on Sunday issued a show cause notice to Mohana MLA Dasarathi Gomango who has gone incommunicado since Thursday evening ahead of the Rajya Sabha elections on Monday.
With the MLA not responding to the phone calls of president of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) Bhakta Charan Das, Congress legislature party (CLP) leader Ramachandra Kadam and other leaders for the last several days, the party had to revise the deadline given to the legisalator asking him to report by 9 am on Monday. In the earlier deadline, Gomango was asked to report at the OPCC headquarters here by 7 pm on Sunday.
The OPCC president warned that if the MLA did not report at the Congress headquarters and does not go by the decision to support the candidature of Dr Datteswar Hota, the party will move legally for his disqualification from the Assembly membership.
The show cause issued by OPCC’s disciplinary committee has accused Gomango of deliberately going into hiding at a critical juncture, raising suspicions of potential cross-voting or defection that could undermine the party’s strategic alliance.
Das alleged that he is somewhere in Bhubaneswar, but not responding to any message from the party. People were sent to his village in Mohana constituency and Bhubaneswar quarter, but he was not there, he said.
The Congress problems do not end here. Ramesh Chandra Jena, Sanakhemundi MLA, has also not shown any inclination to toe the party line. Jena had skipped the crucial CLP meeting where the decision was taken to support the candidature of Dr Hota.
Besides, Barabati-Cuttack MLA Sofia Firdous has also targeted the state leadership for supporting a candidate announced by the BJD. Meanwhile, the eight Congress MLAs met All India Congress Committee (AICC) president Mallikarjun Kharge at Bengaluru on Sunday evening. They will return to Bhubaneswar on Monday morning and cast their votes in the Rajya Sabha elections.