Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Friday sought an explanation from party’s senior leader and Lok Sabha MP from Cuttack Bhartruhari Mahtab for his antiparty remarks.
“An explanation has been sought from Bhartruhari Mahtab for his remark to the media on party’s relation with other major political parties which was against the party’s political stand,” said BJD general secretary Ananta Narayan Jena.
“Besides, he (Mahtab) has been giving statements to the media about party affairs without the approval of the party chief and against the party’s interest,” Jena said.
The move was imminent as two recent back-to-back statements against party interest and subsequent clarifications by Mahtab had put the ruling party in the dock, said party sources.
Mahtab’s statement October 31 that BJD may consider an alliance with Congress, if needed, had put the ruling party in a fix as it had been claiming that it always maintains equidistance from the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Patnaik came out November 3 with a clarification and rejected Mahtab’s statement outright.
However, Mahtab, who is also the leader of the BJD parliamentary party in Lok Sabha, was embroiled in another storm after media published a report last Tuesday where he was quoted as saying that his statement regarding the BJD-Congress alliance was in consultation with the party president.
The Cuttack MP immediately clarified his view was ‘misinterpreted’, but the statement had done enough damage, leaders said.
Appropriate action may be initiated by the party chief if Mahtab’s explanation is not satisfactory, said a party leader.
Other leaders who had backed Mahtab’s statement may also be asked for explanations, he said. BJD vice-president and minister Damodar Rout had backed Mahtab on his statement on a possible alliance between the BJD and the Congress despite the party leadership ruling out the statement.
Rout had said that “Mahtab hasn’t done anything wrong as he has spoken only about a political issue unlike Prafulla Ghadai (whom the party president had expelled from BJD for personal attack in September, 2014).” The minister, however, admitted the statement of the MP amounts to breach of party discipline.
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