Bhubaneswar: Succumbing to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s demand for a probe into the attack on the vehicle of Union Textiles minister Santosh Gangwar at Bargarh few days back, chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday ordered an inquiry by the revenue divisional commissioner (RDC) into the incident.
Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) sources said the inquiry will be done by RDC (Northern range) Pramod Meherda and the report submitted in two months' time.
The move is seen as a strategy to foil the saffron party’s scheduled state-wide protest against the Naveen Patnaik government on Wednesday to protest against the ‘deteriorating’ law and order situation in the State.
Besides, political analysts feel Union Home minister Rajnath Singh’s reprimand on Saturday to take action against those involved in the attack, might also have prompted the BJD supremo to take such a step. Rajnath had also asked Patnaik to ensure that such untoward incidents are not repeated in future.
“The Home Minister spoke to the Chief Minister of Odisha regarding the attack on the Union Ministers Shri Santosh Gangwar and Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti in Bhubaneswar,” tweeted the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
“The Home Minister has asked the Chief Minister to look into the incident and ensure the safety and security of the union ministers visiting the state,” said another tweet.
Meanwhile, the BJP, sensing that it has got the ruling party on the mat, has upped the ante on the issue.
"The attack was pre-planned as the BJD is jittery over the rise of BJP. We are fighting to become a strong alternative to the ruling party. Congress here is in terminal decline," BJP General Secretary and the state in-charge Arun Singh said today.
It was a "murderous" attack aimed at scuttling the party's programmes in the state, he told reporters.
On Friday some BJD leaders and workers had allegedly pelted stones at the car of Gangwar, who was on his way to attend party’s Vikas Ustav. Gangwar was accompanied by Union Minister for Food Processing Industries Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, former Jharkhand Chief Minister Arjun Munda and BJP Odisha unit president Basanta Panda.
The BJD workers virtually surrounded Gangwar’s vehicle and pelted stones at the vehicles breaking the rear window. The whole incident had happened despite the presence of a large number of policemen.