BHUBANESWAR: There is nothing new about speculations in political circles here that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik takes a final call on who will be the president of the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC). There are also allegations from BJP that the Congress in Odisha is the ‘B’ team of the ruling BJD. However, no Congress leader had made such an allegation so far.
On Saturday, senior Congress MLA Suresh Kumar Routray created a flutter in political circles here claiming that it is the Chief Minister who finally decides who will be the OPCC president and observer for Odisha.“The decision about the OPCC president and State Congress observer is taken by the Chief Minister,” he told mediapersons and added that changes in the State Congress are expected by May 7. However, other Congress leaders refused to comment about the statement given by Routray.
It has come at a time when the demand for change of OPCC president and CLP leader has intensified. However, BJD leader Debasis Samantray dismissed Routray’s statement. Stating that Congress is a national party and BJD is a regional outfit, Samantray said that the Chief Minister is concerned about Odisha and BJD and not about other political parties.