'BJD unofficially with BJP' jibe by TMC MP heats up Odisha politics

A day after the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien launched an attack on Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik and alleged that the ruling BJD is 'unofficially' with the BJP, the jibe has heated up politics in the State.

While the BJP questioned what is the compulsion behind BJD supporting the saffron party, the Congress termed the fear of CBI and ED as the main reason behind the conch party supporting PM Modi government at the Centre.

Odisha BJP chief, Manmohan Samal asked, “What is your compulsion to support BJP? Why are you (BJD) maintaining double standards? You are criticising BJP in the State and supporting it at the centre?”

Going a step further, BJP MP from Bhubaneswar, Aparajita Sarangi said, “The BJD is now under ventilator support. Its workers are also well aware of it. Knowing that it cannot compete with a mammoth party like the BJP, the BJD has surrendered.”

“BJD is supporting the BJP fearing the clutches of CBI and ED. You may also see BJP and BJD in an alliance and fight elections together. The TMC has said nothing wrong,” Congress MLA, Santosh Singh Saluja said.

Indicating that any outreach towards Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik could prove arduous, TMC's Leader in the Rajya Sabha Derek O'Brien on Monday said the BJD is "unofficially" with the BJP.

Known for his balancing act with the BJP on one side and opposition parties on the other, Patnaik skipped a NITI Aayog meeting in New Delhi on May 27 as also the inauguration of a new Parliament building by Prime Minister Narendra Modi the next day.

However, while opposition parties gave the inauguration a complete miss, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) chief sent a delegation of 21 party MPs to the ceremony, thereby distancing himself from the decision of the non-BJP parties to boycott the event.

"There are two people who are siding with fascism and one of them is Naveen Patnaik who is unofficially with the BJP. He is working to soothe the RSS. He will not speak up about the treacherous situation in Manipur or the burning of 250 churches there," O'Brien had said.

It is worthwhile to mention here that Senior opposition leaders have been trying to reach out to Patnaik, with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee visiting the veteran leader in Odisha.

Banerjee, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo, and Janata Dal (United) chief Kumar are believed to have met Patnaik to urge him to join the opposition ranks as part of an eastern conglomerate of four states in the region -- Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha -- which have a total of 117 Lok Sabha seats. Odisha has 21 seats in the Lower House of Parliament.

However, Patnaik, who exited the BJP-led NDA in 2008, has indicated that he will not be part of an opposition third front.

On the other hand, the BJD has refuted the allegation leveled by the BJP and Congress and termed TMC’s statements as baseless.

“The statement of TMC MP is totally baseless. We don’t have any compulsion, rather they (BJP) might have,” BJD MLA Bhagirathi Sethi said.

(With inputs from PTI)