Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday targeted Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik over the deplorable incident in which some Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leaders allegedly created ruckus at Delhi airport in 'inebriated' condition.
During a press meet, Irasis Acharya, State President of BJP's youth wing, condemned the reckless act of the BJD leaders at Delhi airport. He said, "A few days back, CM Patnaik went to Delhi for the lifetime achievement felicitation programme. Several BJD workers, leaders and MLAs went to Delhi for attending the event. On September 4, the BJD workers, MLAs and leaders created a ruckus at the airport in inebriated conditions. Is such incident the outcome of CM Patnaik's lifetime achievement?"
Criticising the incident, Acharya said, "For such incident, the Indigo flight they were about to board got delayed by 30 minutes. Moreover, their luggage reached the airport, but they didn't. Apart from Odisha, the incident drew the attention of national media for which the State got disgraced nationally."
Acharya also took a dig at CM Patnaik and said that apart from creating ruckus at Delhi airport, common people faced huge problems after Patnaik returned to Bhubaneswar as BJD workers and leaders hit the roads to welcome the CM, which created traffic chaos.
It is pertinent to mention here that, earlier on September 6, BJD MLA Debi Ranjan Tripathy reacting to the incident said, "The allegations are completely baseless and have no truth behind it."
"Two of our leaders were travelling on the flight for the first time. However, they arrived late which sparked the argument. MLA Ray was travelling from Delhi to Bhubaneswar for the first time," he added.
However, BJD MLA Byomkesh Ray and Pranab Balabantaray are yet to respond to the allegations of the BJP youth wing.