Bhubaneswar: The silence of the Opposition in the State Assembly on the alleged rapport of some leaders of the ruling party with the arrested Dhalasamant brothers more than a one week after the commencement of the budget session has raised eyebrows among many in Odisha.
Political pundits are of the opinion that there are minimal chances that the issue will be raised in the House since many leaders of different political parties in Odisha, including the ruling party, have been known to have shared a great rapport with the D-brothers,
Prasanna Mohanty, senior journalist and political observer, said; “As almots all the political parties have some connection or the other with the D-brothers, there are chances many frontline leaders of different parties will be exposed. Therefore, it is possible that the Opposition and the ruling party have come to an understanding on the issue.”
Mohanty further stated, “It is almost certain that this highly sensitive and important issue will not be debated in the Assembly.”
Notably, photos of the arrested Dhalasamant brothers sharing dais with Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and former Congress MP Bhakta Das have become the talk of the town. Besides, Congress leader Lalatendu Bidyadhara Mohapatra’s challenge to the Commissionerate Police to unravel links between the D-brothers and BJD leaders has added fodder to the salacious discussion in the public.
Meanwhile, Tara Prasad Bahinipati, Opposition chief whip, emphatically said, “We have discussed within the party about raising the issue of political link of the D-brothers in the House. This will open the nexus between BJD leaders and the D-brothers.”
Expressing similar views, Pradip Purohit, BJP MLA, said, “We have started discussions on how to rake up the tender fixing of the D-brothers matter in the Assembly. As the ruling party leaders are involved in this, the party will definitely bring up the issue in the coming days.”
Commenting on the issue, Pratap Jena, BJD spokesperson, said, “Our party’s stand is clear: if anyone is involved in helping the D-brothers in expanding their criminal activities, strict action would be taken against him.”