BHUBANESWAR/KENDRAPARA: The infighting in the ruling BJD turned ugly on Tuesday when stones and eggs were thrown at Kendrapara MP Baijayant Panda by workers owing allegiance to his detractors in the party at Jatiparilo village in Mahanga area.
The incident happened when Panda was returning in a procession after inaugurating a drinking water project funded from MPLAD funds in the village. Panda was seen hit by an egg and he sat down surrounded by his supporters. Later, police escorted the MP up to chopper.
“Forget stones & eggs, they can’t cow me down even if they use bullet. These MPLAD funded projects = 5.2 million litre of drinking water,” Panda tweeted immediately after the incident. Jatiparilo village, which is in Kendrapara constituency, comes under Mahanga Assembly segment represented by State’s Health and Family Welfare Minister Pratap Jena.
While local BJD leaders and minister’s supporters alleged that they were not invited to the inauguration function, Panda rejected the charge and claimed that all the local leaders, including the local MLA, were invited. “Even names of local leaders were written in the plaque,” Panda said.
Panda, in a tweet blamed, one or two “Babus” (officers) for the hooliganism in the ruling BJD and hoped party president Naveen Patnaik would take steps after being aware of the incident. The MP said, “I have been in the party since its inception in 1997. In the first 17 years, we had a policy against hooliganism and infighting. But things have changed in the last three years. When some ‘Babus’ (officers) sitting in AC rooms have started deciding the party activities, it has become a victim of indiscipline. This is not a good sign,” he said. BJD spokesperson and Rajya Sabha member P K Deb said the incident is an outcome of lack of communication and misunderstanding.
The party president will examine the matter. BJD vice-president and Minister S N Patro described the incident as a local problem. “It will be sorted out locally. The district president of the party, local MP and local MLA will resolve the matter,” he said.
However, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan criticised the ruling BJD over the attack on the MP. “There is no democracy in the State,” he said. Congress leader Suresh Routray said such incidents would be explosive in the coming days as the Government and the ruling party were functioning in an arbitrary manner.