ROURKELA: Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram on Friday trained gun on his detractors who he said were trying to destabilise him and warned them of dire consequences.
“Some people are spending money to defame me. They are engaged in disinformation campaign thinking if Jual Oram is dropped, they may get a ministerial berth,” he said after meeting state BJP general secretary (Organisation) Manas Mohanty over the recent developments.
His statement came days after his Rourkela representative Prakash Paswan was arrested for allegedly harbouring criminals in state-managed Circuit House.
The Union minister alleged that some people who entered BJP from other parties were spending money to destabilise him. “This is condemnable. I met Manas Mohanty and apprised him of everything in details. They (the party officer-bearers) will hold discussion and give me justice. If not, I will meet the party’s Central leadership.”
The Sundargarh MP lost his cool before mediapersons and surprised many with his choice of words for his critics, who he said, were trying to defame him. “If anyone tries to discredit my reputation, I have the strength to chop off their hands. I am throwing a challenge. I had announced not to contest elections anymore. But I will fight the polls again. The people who are against me will see what I will do to them.”
Paswan was arrested by Rourkela police on Wednesday on charges of harbouring criminals in the government-run Circuit House at Panposh using his political clout. Sources said ever since Paswan’s name cropped up in the controversy, the BJP rank and file in Sundargarh parliamentary constituency was in a state of shock and dismay.
While there has been suppressed anger among the majority of BJP leaders and workers, none has dared to speak openly. Over the past two years, the BJP rank and file has been increasingly uncomfortable with the growing clout of Paswan and Jual’s district representative Khusboo Yadav over the administrative machinery.
While Paswan entered BJP just before the 2024 general elections after being suspended by the BJD, Yadav has been associated with Jual since a few years.
On August 20, state BJP president Manmohan Samal had suspended Paswan from the state executive committee of the BJP Yuva Morcha. On August 22, Jual had acknowledged that Paswan was one of his active workers and representative to the Rourkela Municipal Corporation. The Union minister had also warned of legal action against those indulging in defamatory campaign against Yadav.
A six-time Lok Sabha Member of BJP from Sundargarh, Jual is serving as the Tribal Affairs minister for the third time.
