Pradhan’s ‘Nabakalebar’ remark draws BJD ire

BHUBANESWAR: Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan's comment on Friday against the State Government has evoked sharp criticism from the BJD. Pradhan had said that the people of Odisha have made up their mind to see a 'Nabakalebar' of the State Government by throwing the 'inefficient and corrupt' BJD into the Bay of Bengal in 2019. He further stated that Puri will be the epicentre of that 'Nabakalebar' (big change).

He made this comment while talking to reporters at Puri after attending Gau-Navaratra Mahotsav. Reacting to Pradhan's remark, Revenue Minister Maheswar Mohanty dared Pradhan to prove his mettle by contesting from Puri Assembly constituency."I urge him to contest from Puri Assembly constituency if he wants to become the Chief Minister. Then only it will be known who will end up in the Bay of Bengal," Mohanty, who represented the constituency, said.

Dubbing Pradhan as the adopted son of Bihar, Agriculture Minister Damodar Rout said the Union Minister has been rejected by the people of his own constituency and he knows nothing about Odisha.
Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar, who is in-charge of Puri parliamentary constituency, however, supported Pradhan saying, "What Dharmendra said about a big change in Odisha is absolutely true. Puri, where BJD has a stronghold, will ultimately turn out to be the 'Panipat' for the regional party."