BHUBANESWAR: The simmering discontentment among a section of the Congress leaders over the continuance of Niranjan Patnaik as OPCC president came to the fore on Thursday with Itish Pradhan, convenor of State unit of NSUI, accusing Patnaik of selling the interests of the party to the BJD.“The anti-party activity of the OPCC president will not be tolerated any more. We will give him sleepless nights and not allow him to enter Odisha from New Delhi,” Pradhan told media persons here.
Pradhan said hundreds of members of the party’s student wing from the State will go to New Delhi and meet AICC president to apprise about the matter. “We will also draw the attention of AICC towards areas where we need to work for strengthening the Congress in Odisha,” he said and demanded that he should be expelled from the party.
Criticising Patnaik for promoting dynastic politics by giving a ticket to his son, who had no link with the party, to contest from Balasore Lok Sabha seat in the last elections, Pradhan said this had demoralised the entire party rank and file. Earlier, former MP Amarnath Pradhan, without naming Patnaik, had alleged that some leaders of the party are hand-in-glove with the BJD and sought action against such elements. AICC secretary Sarat Rout had also supported him.
However, several senior leaders including Congress Rajya Sabha MP Ranjib Biswal and party legislator Tara Prasad Bahinipati had openly supported the continuance of Patnaik as OPCC president in view of the civic body polls likely to be held early next year. The AICC had dissolved all Congress committees in Odisha and sacked all office-bearers except Patnaik and the two working presidents Pradip Majhi and Chiranjib Biswal.