Boudh: In a blatant display of hooliganism, BJD's Begunia MLA Prashant Kumar Jagdev and his supporters thrashed BJP activists showing black flags to Food Supply minister and Youth BJD president Sanjay Dasburma at Manamunda in Boudh district.
According to sources, a few BJP workers came out on to the road and showed black flags to Sanjay Dasburma, who was on his way to attend a rally organized by the Youth wing of BJD to protest the proposed projects by Chhattisgarh government on the upper catchment areas of Mahanadi. Soon, a BJD legislator who was following Dasburma in another vehicle stopped and attacked the BJP workers in the presence of police.
The BJD MLA, along with other party leaders and a corporator, was seen beating up BJP workers and even kicking them in the face.
Following the incident, Boudh district president of BJP Yuva Morcha lodged complaint against five including Pushpendra Singhdeo, Sanjay Dasburma, MLA Prashant Jagdev, corporators Amrash Jena and Vijay Nayak at Manamunda police station.
Meanwhile, BJP condemned the brutal attack on BJP activists, party spokesperson Sajjan Sharma said. "We would like to inform the people of Odisha that the BJD doesn’t believe in the democratic way of functioning. We would like to request the supremo of BJD to stop this hooliganism,” said Sharma.
On the other hand, BJD youth wing vice-president Bijay Nayak, "BJD ministers and leaders were there to protest Chhattisgarh government’s project on Mahanadi, which will have an adverse impact on Odisha. It is unfortunate that while going to attend such a protest, our leaders were shown black flags.
Commenting on the attack by BJD leaders on BJP activists, Nayak said that there might have been some kind of attack on BJD leaders resulting in retaliatory action.