BHUBANESWAR: With no end to the blame game over the miserable performance of Congress in the State, senior leader and former Union Minister Kanhu Charan Lenka on Saturday targeted former Chief Minister Hemananda Biswal and accused him of having a secret pact with the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD).Lenka levelled the charge against Biswal a day after the latter took on George Tirkey for blaming party leaders for his defeat from Sundargarh Parliamentary constituency.
Coming down heavily on Biswal, Lenka accused Biswal, who is also the chairman of the party’s disciplinary committee, of indiscipline. “The man who is talking of discipline was more keen on the political rehabilitation of his daughters than the future of the party. This was evident when the election committee met for selection of party candidates,” Lenka told mediapersons.
Launching a tirade against Biswal, Lenka said the former had a secret pact with the BJD. After managing a BJD ticket for his daughter for Sundargarh Lok Sabha seat, Biswal also succeeded in getting Congress nomination for his younger daughter from Sundargarh Assembly seat. Even women leaders of the Congress campaigned for his elder daughter against the party candidate, he said.
Lenka further alleged that the former Chief Minister could not manage to get any of his two daughters elected despite his desperate attempts to ensure their victory. “Now, this is a matter of discussion across the State,” the former Union Minister said.
Without sparing the State leadership of the party, Lenka said he (Biswal) is not the only one to blame for the Congress debacle. Many others like Biswal put the interest of their children first and neglected the party. “The party was rudderless as these leaders including the campaign committee chairman limited their campaign to their wards’ constituencies,” he said.
Besides Biswal, Lenka’s verbal assault was broadly aimed at Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Niranjan Patnaik, former Leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra and former Union Minister Bhakta Charan Das. While the top leaders of the party are trying to downplay the defeat by saying that the public mood was strongly in favour of Narendra Modi, some like Lenka are seeking immediate course correction to bring the party back to track.