Ex-MLA Sagaria stands firm on his claims of Narsingha-Naveen nexus

Bhubaneswar: Former Congress legislator Krushna Chandra Sagaria has been in the eye of the storm since the day he wrote a letter alleging an unholy nexus between Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and senior Congress leader Narasingha Mishra.

Speaking to OTV, the ex-MLA, who recently resigned over the Kunduli gang rape and suicide incident, said that whatever he wrote in the letter is true and he had never thought that the Leader of Opposition (LoP), that to a member of Congress, will go to such a low level.

"When I resigned from my position, the LoP said that I hadn’t resigned due to the Kunduli incident. He (Mishra) tried to belittle and fabricate my motive behind the resignation. He conspired against me and said that under the influence of some senior leaders, I put down my papers," he said.

He further alleged that Mishra had told some MLAs to prostrate before CM for the implementation of the ORV Act and that led to the end of the protest for the cause; and all these things, prove that there is an understanding between the two.

On the Kunduli incident, Sagaria said "I had earlier told that an incident like Kunduli would have never happened in Koraput district. The victim was alive, she herself was the witness in the case; she even fought for justice. We (Congress) also took to streets demanding justice for her. But when she couldn’t get justice, she took the extreme step."

"The Kunduli rape incident was carelessly handled. As I belong to the same community, on moral grounds I decided to resign as a tribute to the Kunduli girl. I also believe that my resignation will have an impact on the youth of the State," he stated.

When asked whether his resignation was due to his unhappiness over his removal as president of the party’s Odisha Scheduled Caste cell, Sagaria said, "Changes in posts are a part and parcel of politics. AICC takes decisions in this regard. I had only one disappointment that why they (AICC) didn’t inform me before changing my position. Isn’t it funny that for not getting a post in AICC, one will resign from the post of an MLA?"

On rumours of him joining the BJP, he said: "I will never join BJP at any cost. My main focus in future will be to establish social justice and awareness. Social justice, financial equality and awareness are must to save the political democracy else it will not be sustainable."