A day after Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader Arun Sahoo targeted his party colleague and Khandapada MLA Soumya Ranjan Patnaik, Higher Education Minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak on Friday trained his gun at Patnaik for his alleged statements against the party.
Nayak said the Khandapada MLA is giving anti-party statements and they would boomerang on him.
“You the journalists know better than me what Soumya babu is and how many parties he has changed so far and where we will go in the coming days,” said Minister Nayak.
“He is blackmailing the party from within its fold. But, he could never achieve his set target. In the past days, he had tried to blackmail the party. And, even today, he is using ‘blackmail’ as his weapon against the party. His activities would hardly affect the party because people know Soumyababu very well. Following the directions of the Chief Minister, the Chief Minister Office visited all the districts and people’s grievances were collected and they were addressed as well. What is wrong in it? What trouble did it cause to Soumyababu?” said Nayak.
“We would never accept what he is writing or saying. If a stone is thrown at a boulder, the former will bounce back and hit the thrower. The same thing will happen to Soumyababu. I don’t know when and what steps the party’s president will take. But as a common sentry of the party, I would say his blackmailing the party is not acceptable,” he added.
It is worth mentioning that on Thursday Arun Sahu had slammed Patnaik saying he has been disoriented for the last few months and he is telling all these things against the BJD after failing to become a minister.
Hitting back at the Nayagarh MLA, Patnaik said, “In my editorial, I had written ‘Aatmabibhor Prashasak and Asahaya Rajaneta (Jubilant Administrator and Helpless Politician) And former minister and the present Nayagarh MLA has proved my article. The entire speech of Arunbabu has provided proof of a helpless politician.”
Notably, senior BJD leader Soumya Ranjan Patnaik has been taking a dig at the ruling dispensation and the 5T secretary at meetings and in his writings.
In the latest, he took a swipe at the 5T Secretary of the Odisha government in ‘Ama Ghara Halchal’ column of his daily newspaper with the title – ‘Janmadinara Anuchinta’.
Patnaik had questioned when the Collectors have been appointed in every district to hear people’s grievances, why so much money is spent on the 5T Secretary’s visits to various parts of the state in a chopper. He estimated that the expenditure incurred for the 5T Secretary’s visit would be around Rs 300 crore.
Coming in support of Patnaik, BJP leader Jayanarayan Mishra said, “The issues he (Soumya Ranjan Patnaik) has been raising are appropriate. He said that the money spent on the 5T secretary’s visit to all districts is equal to the money spent on Chandrayaan-3 which is a matter of concern. And the money given unofficially to people to bring them to meeting places also needs to be investigated and strict action should be taken against Pandian. Odisha people have nothing to do with Soumyababu blackmailing his party. But, the party should clarify on what Soumyababu has said about the money spent on Pandian’s visit.”
Responding to what the Higher Education Minister and the Nayagarh MLA said about him, Khandapada MLA Patnaik hauled Arun Sahoo and Atanu Sabasachi Nayak over the coals without taking their names.
“They lack in words which is why they are using the single word ‘Blackmailing’ repeatedly. I don’t want to increase their importance by answering to what they said. I don’t think, they are saying these things on their own. I suppose someone is pressurizing them to say so. They have no option but to obey him as they would lose their source of earning,” said Patnaik.
“One, who has lost his ministerial berth, has said about the ministerial berth. And another one is speaking so in fear of losing his ministerial berth. They are so helplessness that they are bound to say what they have been asked to say,” he said.
‘What I am speaking is for the interest of the party. I am speaking for the betterment of the BJD and the state," he said.
When asked why he has been changing party, he said the change of decision is a common process. “Naveen babu is changing his decisions in every 15 days. In 2019, he had said the party would oppose the Centre. But what happened at the time of election? Decisions change according to circumstances and it is a common process,” he added.