Kendrapara MP Baijayant Panda has been suspended by Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik from the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) primary membership. This event has brought to a climax weeks and the last few years of disgruntled statements that told of a fallout between Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and one of BJD’s most well-known faces.
Announcement
BJD party vice-president Surya Patro announced the suspension of the Kendrapara MP. The reason for Panda’s suspension was alleged as his “anti-party activities.” The Biju Janata Dal party attributes Panda’s discontent and unhappiness to his being denied a nomination to the chairman of standing committee on Finance. Panda was longing for the position of chairman of standing committee on Finance in Lok Sabha, and he expressed his interest in the party leadership. He also said that BJD being the Parliament’s fourth largest party may not be favored with Chairmanship of the standing committee on Finance. He, however, stated that if he is nominated, he would be able to lobby and get the position. The party also disproved Panda’s claims of being a founding member of the party. The BJD party vice president said that Panda had been denied a nomination to the committee’s chairmanship to evade a conflict of interest. He noted that Panda had been directly and indirectly indulging in activities designed to weaken the BJD. He said that Panda ceased any opportunity – whether in the Parliament, state constituency o media space – to criticize the party and eulogize the opposition.
Panda Expresses Disappointment
Baijayant Panda in a tweet expressed his dismay on the decision to have him suspended from the Biju Janata Dal party. Panda, who is a very vocal supporter of the Narendra Modi government, has claimed to be a victim of a conspiracy to malign him. He took to Twitter where he said that he was shocked by the recent development. He said that he vehemently denies the allegations against him; that they are entirely baseless. Panda has blamed the Chief Minister’s secretary for the false accusation, not Naveen Patnaik. His comments have led to him clashing with some of his MLAs.
Despite the Kendrapara MP’s discontentment with this decision, those who have been following Odisha politics saw this coming. Panda apart from being a politician has a wealthy family business which owns Odisha’s leading odia channel. It will play a major role in the next polls.
