Gopalpur MLA hails Modi, buzz out he may join BJP

Gopalpur legislator Pradip Panigrahi has faced flak for praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi instead of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. Now, rumours are abuzz that Pradip Panigrahi may join BJP for which he is praising the BJP government.

According to sources, NDA’s presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu will return to Odisha tomorrow. Before Droupadi’s return, Panigrahi hailed Modi like anything. Praising the Modi government, he said “Modi is giving much more importance to Odisha. Modi has taken epic decision by choosing Droupadi Murmu as Presidential candidate. As Droupadi belongs to Odisha, my vote will go in favour of Droupadi. Now I am an independent MLA and earlier I was associated with BJD.

It may be mentioned that last year Panigrahi was sent to jail after being arrested by the state CID for collecting bribes from job aspirants with the false promise of employment in Tata Motors. He was released on bail after spending a little over seven months in jail.