BHUBANESWAR: The suspension of Barabati-Cuttack MLA Mohammed Moquim and former OPCC working president Chiranjib Biswal seems to be boiling over with pressure mounting on the Congress state leadership to withdraw the order. The public display of factionalism has come a day ahead of the state executive meeting of the party.
Hundreds of party workers on Friday staged a demonstration at the Master Canteen square here demanding immediate revocation of their suspension. The workers from Cuttack and Jagatsinghpur - supporters of Moquim and Biswal - entered Congress Bhavan shouting slogans against the action on the two leaders. They demanded a meeting with OPCC president Sarat Pattanayak on the issue. After finding that Pattanayak was not present, they resorted to demonstration and slogan shouting.
The protesters alleged the two senior leaders were suspended in an undemocratic manner and this has hurt party workers across Odisha. Such action against the two leaders, who have done a lot for the party, is totally unjustified, they added. Pattanayak downplayed the protest saying such things happen in a political party.
Meanwhile, the general secretary of the OPCC Narayan Jena has been expelled from the party for giving statements in support of Moquim and Biswal. The order was issued by the chairman of state disciplinary committee Santosh Singh Saluja.