Bhubaneswar, Apr 16: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday accused Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik of hatching a conspiracy to hand over the State's governance in the hands of VK Pandian following this year's general elections.
Former BJP State president Samir Mohanty stated this while pointing out the intention of the Chief Minister to fight elections from two Assembly seats- Hinjili and Kantabanji.
However, Mohanty said that the people of Odisha would reject the plan of giving Pandian the responsibility of governing Odisha after bringing him to the Assembly through the back door. The Chief Minister will vacate one of the two seats, paving the way for a by-poll. The No.2 campaigner of the BJD, VK Pandian, will contest from that seat. Thereafter, the Naveen government will bring Pandian Babu before the people and then hand over the power, he contended.
Claiming that the BJP is contesting elections based on Asmita (Self-Identity) and Swaviman (Self-Integrity), Mohanty said the people of Odisha will never make him succeed.
In the State, the burden of governance is in the hands of a few bureaucrats. Democracy is in danger in Odisha. While the Chief Minister is ruling through video, Pandian Babu is present in the meeting. People have not forgotten the corruption that took place in the name of 5T. Corruption is everywhere. Odia people are repeatedly attacked. The BJD government is insulting the Jagannath culture. A scam of Rs 4,500 crore has been committed in the name of Shreemandir Parikrama project, he contended further.
In the last election, the Chief Minister contested in two Assembly seats. After the polls, he left the new one (Bijepur) and retained the old one (Hinjili).