BHUBANESWAR: Nearly a month after removing all state office-bearers, BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik on Monday constituted a 15-member committee for coordinating various activities of the party.
Senior leader Debi Prasad Mishra has been appointed as the chairman of the committee with members including Opposition chief whip Pramila Mallick, deputy Opposition chief whip Pratap Deb, former ministers Niranjan Pujari, Bikram Keshari Arukha, Pradip Kumar Amat, Arun Kumar Sahoo, Aswini Kumar Patra, Pratap Jena, Sarada Prasad Nayak, Sudam Marndi, Manohar Randhari, Snehangini Chhuria, Mahesh Sahoo and Debesh Acharya.
While no organisational districts have been allotted to the committee members, sources said, they will coordinate with party work at the district level as per requirement.
Meanwhile, Mallick on Monday dismissed the claims of several BJP leaders that there will be desertion from the regional outfit to the saffron party shortly. “A false campaign has been launched by the saffron party to destabilise our party. No one from our party is interested to join the BJP. No BJD leader is in touch with them,” she said.
Coming down heavily on the BJP, she alleged that the party has cheated women by announcing Subhadra and Lakhpati Didi Yojanas to woo them before the elections. “Women were asked to fill up forms at Jana Seva Kendras for the two schemes, but the government is yet to finalise the guidelines for their implementation. The previous Naveen Patnaik-led government had created seven lakh Lakhpati Didis in the state which the BJP government will add to its list,” she alleged.
The BJD also questioned the grievance hearing conducted by ministers at the BJP party office. “As representatives of the government, ministers have a duty to listen to the grievances of people. But, how far is it justified for ministers to hear grievances in party offices. Why should a common man visit any party office?” questioned BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty at a media conference here.