Senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and party’s Lok Sabha candidate for Bhubaneswar Aparajita Sarangi came down heavily on BJD leader VK Pandian for his certain remarks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and party’s National President JP Nadda.
Addressing a presser in Bhubaneswar on Sunday, Sarangi advised the BJD leader, ”He (Pandian) should not call the Prime Minister a tourist. He should not make negative remarks on the works of the Prime Minister.”
The BJP MP took exception to certain words used by VK Pandian against Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, saying, ”Use of words like ‘aukat’(capacity) and ‘dum’(guts) against the Union Minister and raising a question on his(the Union Minister) eligibility is unbecoming of a former IAS officer like Pandian.”
With a word of caution, the BJP leader observed, ”He should stay and conduct within the boundaries of dignity. He should behave in a dignified manner. “
'BJD MPs should present report cards'
“He also asked me about my performance in the last five years. I want to ask Pandian Babu one thing - if he has the guts, he should ask 12 Lok Sabha MPs of his party(2019-2024) to present their report cards in the public domain. I would not find them inside the Lok Sabha. Three of the MPs – Bharturhari Mahtab, Anubhab Mohanty and Pinaki Mishra used to raise questions and were actively taking part in proceedings. The BJD rewarded these three MPs as they were denied tickets this time.”
She also added that Dr Prasana Patasani was the BJD MP for five terms and he should put forth his report card in the public domain. “I will repeat it how many of their MPs have come out with their report cards. Will Pandian babu take pains of putting the report cards of the MPs in the public domain?” she asked.
Later, addressing a press meet, BJD leader Sasmit Patra said,”What is your contribution as the Bhubaneswar MP? This was the question we had asked. We BJD leaders never say any derogatory statements against any of the BJP leaders, be they Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other Union Ministers.”