Biju Janata Dal Odisha (BJD) MP Sasmit Patra addresses a press conference, at the Constitution club of India in New Delhi.
| Photo Credit: ANI
The Biju Janata Dal on Tuesday firmly asserted that its Parliamentary Party remains united, dismissing speculations of further defections as the product of ‘yellow journalism’ propagated by vested interests in the State.
Addressing a press conference in the presence of six other BJD Rajya Sabha MPs in New Delhi, Sasmit Patra, Rajya Sabha MP, said “there are several vested groups that do not want the BJD to advocate more strongly for Odisha’s interests. We remain committed to raising Odisha’s concerns in New Delhi. The BJP government in Odisha is unsettled by our voice.”
“The BJP leaders resort to character assassination using some vested interest driven media groups. The media is ignoring the BJD’s perspective and publishing fabricated, biased, and sensationalised reports against its MPs, speculating that there could be defection in the BJD Parliamentary Party,” said Mr. Patra.
Similarly, Subhashish Khuntia, BJD Rajya Sabha MP, said, “we are compelled to hold this press conference to address recent developments. The media, as the fourth pillar of democracy, has a responsibility to deliver accurate and impartial news. Unfortunately, my image, along with that of MP Manas Mangaraj, has been flashed across media platforms with fabricated reports suggesting a possible defection within our party.”
“This is deeply concerning as such misinformation not only misleads the public but also undermines trust in the media. People are watching, and they deserve the truth, not baseless speculation. It is unfortunate that citizens are being subjected to anxiety caused by such unfounded and irresponsible reporting,” said Mr. Khuntia.
Mr. Patra asserted that all the seven MPs of the BJD were with the BJD and would continue to be with the BJD till their last breath.
The BJD had nine Rajya Sabha members, while Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw was the sole BJP representative from Odisha in the Upper House. After the formation of the Mohan Majhi Government, BJD Rajya Sabha members Mamata Mohanata and Sujeet Kumar resigned from the party, joined the BJP, and were subsequently re-elected to the Rajya Sabha as BJP MPs. State BJP leaders publicly claimed that several BJD Rajya Sabha MPs were ready to join the saffron party, and that BJD MLAs could also defect to the BJP.
Reacting to the press conference held by BJD MPs, BJP State President Manmohan Samal said, “what prompted them to hold the press conference? The BJD MPs were damaging their own reputation by publicly addressing the issue.”
It needs to be mentioned that BJD, a strong regional party, had drawn a blank in this year’s Lok Sabha election. While the BJP has 20 MPs in Lok Sabha, one seat has been won by the Congress.
Published – December 18, 2024 02:54 am IST
