BHUBANESWAR: A day after BJD leaders from Puri met at the residence of former minister Pratap Deb to discuss organisational matters, several senior members of the party on Monday expressed discontentment over the same stating it was against the order of party president Naveen Patnaik.
Former minister Prafulla Mallik said Naveen should have taken note of the meeting as it could have been held in the Sankha Bhawan. “I am personally not against leaders meeting in a hotel or anybody’s residence. However, the question is why is the party president silent on the matter and has not taken any action?” he asked adding, there should be uniformity in party policies.
Another senior leader Bhupinder Singh also raised the same issue. Singh said the leaders from Puri who met at the residence of Deb should have been pulled up by the party president. “The party president should treat all leaders in an impartial manner and implement his orders,” he said and added that discussion on appointment of block president of Puri district should have been held at Sankha Bhawan.
The BJD president had expressed strong disapproval regarding party leaders meeting in hotels and private residences instead of Sankha Bhawan after a similar meeting was held by senior leaders in April. “Such meetings should happen at the party office to ensure transparency and unity,” he had said.
On Sunday, party leaders from Puri district including Rajya Sabha member Subhasish Khuntia, district president Umakanta Samantaray and other senior leaders met at the residence of Deb to discuss organisational matters. Former minister Sanjay Das Burma and BJD MLA from Puri Sunil Mohanty had, however, kept away from the meeting.