Hatadihi: In the wake of squabbles between School and Mass Education Minister Badrinarayan Patra and OPCC president Niranjan Patnaik over some issue, Ananadapur BJD MLA Mayadhar Jena slammed Rajya Sabha MP Soumya Ranjan Patnaik for his ‘attitude’ towards Patra. He accused Patnaik of showing his old love for Congress.
“Soumya Ranjan is in the BJD, but the way he conducts toward a senior party leader like Badrinarayan Patra smacks of his still-existent love for Congress,” Jena noted.
Jena also alleged, “Congress has not been able to reclaim Ghasipura constituency for many years. His brother is the OPPC president. Soumya Ranjan apparently wants to unseat Badrinarayan anyway from Ghasipura and to ensure the win of his brother.” Jena also charged Soumya Ranjan with using his newspaper and TV channel to malign Badrinarayan.
Besides, state BJD’s executive member Bimbadhar Biswal termed Soumya Ranjan a turncoat and said despite being in BJD, the Rajya Sabha member has been making false statements and propaganda against Badrinarayan.
PNN