Samikhsya Bureau
The Biju Janata Dal has lashed back at the union minister Dharmendra Pradhan for the Bharatiya Janata Party’s repeat charges about the BJD indulging in a kind of “goondaraj” to spread panic among other political parties. Even leaders like Baijayant Panda also hammer at that point, as how the BJD is using its criminal tools to silence the opposition.
Countering the BJP’s charges the Biju Janata Dal has challenged Pradhan to look back at his own record in the past where he had resorted to questionable means to do politics. The BJD has alleged that, it is Dharmendra Pradhan who is inculcating criminalisation in the poll politics and fuelling a fear psychosis by violent means.
Revealing the details before the media at a press meet the BJD tried to take a dig at Dharmendra that how he had tried to usher in criminalisation in politics in the model of Madhya Pradesh and Bihar, from where he has remained as Rajya Sabha member, the BJD said that Pradhan is experimenting the same here in Odisha to create an atmosphere of unrest.
In a recent video that went viral in the social media Pradhan was seen almost reprimanding a team of the Election Commission trying to frisk his chopper etc. Pradhan was visibly in a fiery mood in the video while arguing with the officials busy in their routine checks. The BJD has interpreted that as a symptom of Pradhan’s inner pshyche.
The BJD leaders at the press meet were unsparing and alleged that Pradhan’s link with criminal elements can be traced back to his relationship with the Byapam scam accused Sudhir Sharma who allegedly had booked air tickets for Pradhan. It was not for nothing that Sharma did the booking if Pradhan had no chemistry with such elements, BJD alleged
The BJD further alleged that how his involvement in a coal allocation scam became evident in a book by P.C.Parekh ‘ Crusader or inspiratory ? coalgate and other truths’ in which Parekh has described how pressure was built up to allocate certain coal block to someone .
The BJD also questioned that what was the yardstick Pradhan had adopted while sanctioning two petrol pumps to the notorious gangster Tito in Kendrapada. Even charges were levelled by the BJD over certain acts of damaging the EVM by Pradhan who also allegedly misbehaved with some people there.
A long list of charges against the union minister that the latter must answer before trying to demean the BJD, they said.
