Energy Minister, Pratap Keshari Deb on Saturday came down heavily on party leader and Khandapada MLA, Soumya Ranjan Patnaik for criticising his own party’s conduct.
Telling Patnaik to leave the party, Deb said that he should not criticise his own party while being in the party.
“Soumya babu is a very learned man and an intellectual too. I do not need to advise him. But as a BJD’s MLA, he should know what he is writing in his editorials about Chief Minister’s grievance reddressal,” Deb said at a presser in Bhubaneswar.
“The Chief Minister has already clarified about why his Private Secretary is collecting grievances from the people. To target the Chief Minister’s Office, even after so much clarification is not justified. If a person goes out of the party forum to criticise the party on his own, then it will be termed as blackmailing,” he said.
“If you do not abide by the rules of the party, then you should not remain in the party. Criticising own party from home, breaks the discipline of the party. If he wants to say something, then he should leave the party and then say whatever he wants,” Deb added.
Following Deb’s attack, Bhubaneswar MP and BJP leader, Aparajita Sarangi said, “Soumya Ranjan Patnaik is an experienced and intellectual person. He has shown courage and tried to bring out the truth. Every BJD MLA should take it positively. People would not have laughed over Odisha’s governance had the BJD listened to Soumya Babu earlier.”
Soon after, Congress came out in support of Patnaik. Party Spokesperson Arya Kumar Gyanendra said, "Soumya Babu never runs after any post. Had it been the case, he would have got everything during Janaki Babu's period."
It is pertinent to mention here that Deb is not the first person in the party to criticise Patnaik.
Earlier, MLA Arun Sahoo and Minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak had already targeted Patnaik for his editorials in newspaper.
“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?” Nayak had said.