Bhubaneswar: The political career of BJD leader and Agriculture Minister Pradeep Maharathy drew a controversy after BJP's legislature party leader Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo said that the former started his political journey from a different party.
"Pradeep Maharathy should be asked from which party did he start his political career. If he can abandon that party so what is the guarantee that he will not jump to any other party in future," said Deo.
However, Maharathy denied the allegation of Deo saying he had started his political career from Janata Dal.
"I was first elected in the year 1985 when only 14 MLAs had been elected in Odisha. I have not looked back since then; I am in the party from that day and will maintain distance from both BJP and Congress till my last breath," said Maharathy.
On the other hand, BJP Vice President Sameer Mohanty said that Maharathy was earlier a member of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and was in BJP till 1984.
"Pradeep Maharathy should clarify if he had attended the National Conference on ABVP held at Banaras in 1977. He was working as a member of the BJP till 1984 and should also explain the circumstances under which he left the party," said Mohanty.