BJD met ECI to submit info on case against Naveen: Dharmendra Pradhan

Bhubaneswar: Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan took a jibe at BJD's Puri MP Pinaki Misra over his statement that he met the Election Commission of India (ECI) to seek simultaneous polls in the State.

Pradhan claimed that Misra met the ECI to provide information on the poll expenditure case pending against BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

“Misra misled everyone about his meeting with the ECI. His statement about simultaneous polls is not true. Instead he went there to submit information during a hearing by the ECI,” said Pradhan.

Denying the charges, BJD spokesperson Sasmit Patra said, “There is no need to make someone understand when he is not in a mood to comprehend things. The ECI is a constitutional set up and politics should not be made over it.”

Misra on Wednesday met the ECI in New Delhi.

After the meeting, Misra had told media that if the Centre is planning to hold early Lok Sabha polls, then Assembly elections should be conducted in Odisha simultaneously.

He also informed that the ECI has been urged to dismiss the poll expenses irregularities case against Naveen Patnaik.