Baripada: Former MP Baijayant Panda failed to attend the ,Durniti-Bhrasthachar Birodhi Jana Samabesh’ held at Chhau Padia in Baripada town of Mayurbhanj district Sunday. Panda was learnt to have returned halfway from the meeting venue, sensing trouble.
Former minister Damodar Rout and former president of Odisha State Cooperative Societies Jajneswar Bau attended the meeting. The two leaders had waited for Panda at Palabani for about half an hour.
The two leaders took part in a rally to the town and garlanded the statue of former Chief Minister late Biju Patnaik at Biju Patnaik Chhak.
Addressing the rally, Rout reiterated his old statements, saying that he was ousted from ministry for taking action on irregularities. He asserted that he was offered cash to suppress a scam. However, Rout slightly touched upon issue like mining, dal, chit fund scams, PC and other irregularities.
As Rout did not made trenchant attack on the government on such issues, the organizers of the meeting were said to be miffed with him.
Interestingly, when Rout was addressing the rally, BJD leader Debasish Marandi climbed on the dais. Marandi asked, “Fomer BJD leader Baijayant Panda himself has been doing mining business while he is yet to clear electricity bill to the tune of crores of rupees. If he clears the bill, that money would be used for development of the people of Odisha. Why Panda is maligning the state government without paying the electricity bill?”
Rout did not reply to the first question. Meanwhile, organisers had dragged Marandi from the dais while he was shouting ‘Naveen Patnaik Jindabad,”
Police had detained Marandi and two other youths at police station and set them free after the meeting was over.
Rout and Babu told people that as Baijayant was ill, he returned home halfway. It was alleged that a beef trader sponsored the bike rally for the two leaders at Palabani. The trader had been jailed for illegal business earlier.
The programme was sponsored by two MLAs and a trader, it was said.
When Rout delivered his speech, there was thin audience at the meeting venue. People were in a queue for food.
Executive president of the BJD district unit Debasish Mohanty said that the allegation of Dama Babu have no bases and the meeting will have no impact on common people who are always siding with BJD.
