Bhubaneswar, June 5 (IANS) The opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Friday raised serious objections to remarks by senior BJP leader and Revenue Minister Suresh Pujari regarding political parties’ ideologies, calling them “highly inappropriate” and “childish”.

Revenue Minister Pujari, speaking to the media on Friday, said the BJD is fast approaching collapse, with leaders quitting almost every day. He asserted that political parties lacking a strong ideological foundation and relying primarily on power for their existence were unlikely to survive for long in a democratic system.

Responding to the remarks, the regional party, at a press conference, alleged that the comments were an attempt by the Revenue Minister to divert attention from the weaknesses and internal discord prevailing within the ruling BJP.

BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty said that during the last two years of BJP rule in Odisha, weak leadership, misgovernance, and corruption have increased. He stated that people are now expressing their desire to see former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik return to power.

Referring to former BJD Rajya Sabha MP Debashish Samantaray’s joining the BJP and subsequent nomination for the Rajya Sabha by-election, Mohanty said that in a democracy, any leader has the right to join any political party. However, he added that the comments made by Revenue Minister Suresh Pujari following Samantaray’s move were “highly inappropriate and childish”.

The BJD spokesperson further referred to a recent survey that reportedly indicates that if elections were held today, the BJD would win more than 80 seats, while the BJP would suffer a massive defeat. In such a situation, Mohanty said, the BJP has resorted to raising trivial ideological slogans.

He stated that after survey reports suggested a sweeping victory for BJD, fear and instability have pushed the BJP into “panic mode”. According to him, increasing leadership crises and internal conflicts within the BJP have led the party to attempt to lure leaders from other political parties.

–IANS

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