BHUBANESWAR: The ruling BJD and opposition Congress have strongly condemned the attack on the official residence of Chief Minister’s Private Secretary V Karthikeyan Pandian on Saturday.While Rajya Sabha member and BJD spokesperson Pratap Keshari Deb alleged that BJP is indulging in such acts to divert attention and somehow delay or postpone the by-election to Bijepur Assembly constituency as a defeat is staring at it, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Narasingh Mishra said the incident has exposed the Fascist design of BJP in Odisha.
Alleging that BJP is resorting to cheap violent tactics and trying to terrorise the administration to gain an upper hand in the by-poll, Deb said the party is creating an atmosphere of intolerance in the State. The attack was pre-planned and cold-blooded, Deb said and alleged that the goons threatened the security staff stating that they would deal in this manner with all those who oppose Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and MP Baijayant Panda.
Claiming that the BJP activists said they were sent by the Union Minister, Deb termed the incident of terrorising the IAS officer’s wife and two children in his absence as very unfortunate. He demanded that Pradhan and Panda should clarify their stand in the matter.Criticising the BJP for ransacking the official residence of an officer, Narasingh demanded stringent action against the culprits and conspirators. BJP’s attempt to come to power through hooliganism can never be successful in Odisha, he said. The CPI, CPM, All India Forward Block and Samajwadi Party have also condemned the attack.
Meanwhile, the State BJP on Saturday sought to know why the ruling party is so disturbed. “Where was the BJD’s concern when its party worker hurled eggs at Union Ministers Jual Oram and Santosh Gangwar and suspended BJD MP Baijayanata Panda,” questioned BJP vice-president Samir Mohanty.Mohanty said the ruling BJD has never shown such concern when officers belonging to the State administration and other category services were assaulted or murdered. Recently, in Jajpur district a regional transport officer was crushed to death, allegedly by mining mafia having nexus with the ruling party leaders. Neither the BJD nor any officers’ association expressed grief for the transport officer who had to pay for honesty, he added.
Meanwhile, a delegation of the BJP met Chief Electroral Officer Surendra Kumar and submitted a memorandum demanding that four officers including Pandian and his wife Sujata, be relieved from their current posting in view of the Bijepur by-election.
4 BJP activists arrested
The city cops arrested four BJP activists on Saturday for barging into the official residence of V Karthikeyan Pandian and registered a case under Sections 147 (punishment for rioting), 149 (unlawful assembly), 294 (punishment for obscene acts or words in public), 307 (attempt to murder), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) and 506 (Punishment for criminal intimidation) of IPC.
