Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MP, Pinaki Misra on Thursday said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is their principal Opposition in Odisha.
He said this while speaking in the Lower House of the Parliament during discussions on the Delhi Services bill which was passed on Thursday.
It is pertinent to mention here that the BJD supported the bill, which was opposed by Congress and other parties vehemently, attracting sharp criticism for the ruling party of Odisha.
Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Misra said, “The reason the bill is being supported is not because BJD supports BJP. Even the BJP leaders will vouch for the fact that we fight a vigorous battle with them on the ground in Odisha.”
“They (BJP) are our principle Opposition because the Congress party has been wiped out in Odisha with currently a meagre 10 percent vote share in the State,” he said.
"We are equidistant from the BJP and the Congress. The reason we supported this bill, is because we have studied the Constitution which gives the Parliament the power to enact a law. We continue to fight the BJP and the Congress in our State. As far as the no-confidence motion is concerned, when that will be brought up in the House, we will definitely elaborate on why the motion is unwarranted given the circumstances,” Misra added.
Odisha BJP chief, Manmohan Samal too reiterated his statements that the BJP is with nobody, neither with the Congress nor with the BJD. “We will fight both the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections seriously and continue to expose the corruption and illegal activities in Odisha,” he said