Kendrapara: In a fresh twist to the Penthapala panchayat samiti member nomination withdrawal issue, samity member candidate Gayatri Sethy took a U-turn today writing to the district administration that she had given media statement of not withdrawing nominations under pressure from Congress party.
"Expressing reluctance to fight election, I had withdrawn nomination at the office of BDO on 21st, January under no pressure and influence. Later, the leaders of Congress had pressurised me and my family, which forced me to lodge a complaint alleging that I had not withdrawn. I have also given statement in media on the issue. But, now the matter is being politicised. So, I again had apprised the BDO that I have really withdrawn my nomination paper", the letter, which was submitted to the sub-collector, read.
Gayatri’s husband, who gave the letter to sub-collector, said his wife had told lie under severe pressure. “I and some supporters had accompanied my wife to the office of BDO. She had withdrawn her nomination papers, but had to resort to lie due to the pressure of some local Congress leader. My wife is undergoing treatment at hospital. So, I had to come to the office of sub-collector”, he said.
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Reacting to the U-turn of the samity member contestant, senior Congress leader Ganeswar Behera, who earlier had demanded through probe into the entire episode, today condemned the matter.
"She (Gayatri Sehty) might be terrorised and lured by money which prompted her to change her version. I condemned such incident. A fair inquiry is required to bring out the truth," Ganeswar Behera said, holding the local MLA Kishore Tarai and BJD government responsible for the matter.
On the other hand, Kendrapara legislator denied his role in the whole issue. "The Congress allegation has no base. I have no role in the incident", Tarai added.