BHUBANESWAR: Three-time MLA from Gopalpur and former minister in BJD government Pradeep Kumar Panigrahy joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) here on Wednesday in the presence of state president Manmohan Samal and other senior leaders.
Welcoming Panigrahy to the BJP, Samal said the former minister is a victim of political machination of BJD. “BJP will gain strength in Ganjam district after the joining of Panigrahi who is a popular leader with good organisational skills,” he said.
Panigrahy said he joined the BJP as he was inspired by the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has elevated India’s profile globally and has taken a leadership role in world affairs. He said the prime minister has ensured inclusive and all-round development of the country and the people have reposed faith on his leadership and ‘Modi guarantee’. In contrast here in Odisha there is a ‘shadow’ government which is not only corrupt but has become autocratic.
“The time has come to change the BJD government led by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik who came to power with the blessings of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee but later dumped the BJP to realise his selfish political interests,” he said.
Panigrahy said the prime minister has given nearly Rs 19 lakh crore to Odisha in the last 10 years yet the state is lagging due to massive corruption and diversion of Central funds. The people of the state are now well aware of the BJD’s tricks of rebranding all Central schemes, he added.
Dubbing the BJD government as anti-Odia, Panigrahy appealed people of the state to give BJP a chance to serve them. A double-engine government of the BJP will fulfil the aspirations of people and transform the state to ‘Shrestha Odisha’.
Once a close confidant of Naveen Patnaik, Panigrahy fell out with the BJD leadership and was subsequently expelled from the regional party in November, 2020 following charges of anti-people activities and cheating. Speculations of his joining BJP were rife after the state BJP president met Panigrahy at his residence here on February 15.