BHUBANESWAR: BJP national vice-president and former Kendrapara MP Baijayant Panda’s barb, a tweet in which he equated police action against a journalist of the news channel run by his family in Odisha to absence of legal processes in Pakistan, has not gone down well with the ruling BJD.
The former MP had drawn parallels between Odisha and Maharashtra and described the situation in the two states as “real fascism”.
“Shameful how Maharashtra & Odisha police simply “pick up” & assault journalists & do custodial interrogation, without following the basic process of law, like in Pakistan. This is real fascism,” his tweet said.H
is post evoked strong reaction from BJD leaders who described it as unfortunate and ‘shameful’.
Pranab Prakash Das, general secretary (organisation) of BJD, responded by stating that it was disrespectful of people of Odisha and its culture.
“Nothing more shameful than comparing your own state with Pakistan. Colossal disrespect for the Odia culture and the people of Odisha. Hope better sense prevails and this insult for the people of Kendrapara, the entire state stops here!”
Das was supported by BJD spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Sasmit Patra who termed it “unfortunate”.
“Jay Panda @PandaJay feels Odisha has become Pakistan, the same state that sent him to both houses of the Parliament. The same people of Kendrapara who ensured it. The same Tulasi Khetra. This is an insult to every Odia and to Odia culture as well,” Patra posted in the micro-blogging site.
Patra’s fellow party member and Rajya Sabha MP Amar Patnaik also tweeted, “We all know the law. Freedom of expression comes with restrictions & certainly doesn’t cover fake news, tarnishing image of people & much less a tribal woman MP, in most reprehensible form, a fake sex video! All know consequences if this happened in Pakistan Let’s not fool people!” In his tweet, Patnaik said he was appalled at the treatment to a woman. “I tweet this in support of all women of India,” he posted.
Panda, later, clarified his tweet by saying that he never equated Odisha with Pakistan.
“I only said that Odisha police is behaving like Pakistan police. My tweet is being twisted by a desperate BJD,” he said.