BHUBANESWAR: Day after chief minister
Naveen Patnaik said BJP is sinking fast, petroleum minister
Dharmendra Pradhan retorted by comparing the BJD with a
fused bulb.
“The situation of the BJD is just like the bright light of a bulb before it burns out? Mr chief minister wait till 2019,” Dharmendra said here on Friday. He was addressing a public meeting after getting a rousing welcome on his first visit to the city post his re-election to
Rajya Sabha.
Accusing the BJD of entering into a tacit understanding with the Congress, Dharmendra said the regional party owns the Bijepur by-election because of its deal with the Congress. The so-called huge margin of the BJD in Bijepur is like the extra light emitted by a bulb before its filament gets cut, he said.
Dharmendra said even in BJP’s defeat, people have placed it as the principal opposition in Odisha. The BJP is ready to accept the added responsibility, he said.
Commenting on Naveen’s statement that he has not thought about coalition as yet, Dharmendra said Naveen has said neither yes nor no keeping his option open to side with the Congress. “In 1997, the BJD forged an alliance with the BJP against the Congress. Twenty years later, it is planning to enter into a coalition with the Congress,” the Union minister said.
Reacting to Dharmendra’s statement, BJD spokesperson and MLA
Amar Prasad Satpathy said Dharmendra is living in a dream land and is not ready to accept the reality. “Nobody would like to defend a situation where party candidates face defeats in Parliamentary seats vacated by a chief minister and a deputy chief minister. It’s certainly not an example of BJP ascending,” he said.
On BJD-Congress alliance, Satpathy said Dharmendra is jumping the gun while the CM clearly said the party has not though about any coalition plan.
