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Bhubaneswar, June 7: Senior Biju Janata Dal leaders engaged in a war of words in the wake of party’s defeat in a by-election to Cuttack civic ward have reportedly been reprimanded by the party supremo.
Excise minister Damodar Rout, MLA Prabhat Biswal and Debasish Samantray were engaged in a spar with Rout blaming the local leaders for the CMC debacle. Meanwhile, Bishnu Das, the bête noire of Rout also joined the chorus.
Strangely, all these leaders maintained a steady silence over the issue Tuesday. However, the leaders denied that they were admonished by the party boss. Biswal, who visited the CMO in the afternoon also parried media questions.
Earlier, countering the charges made by the excise minister who had targeted Cuttack-Barabati MLA Debasish Samantray over the CMC by-poll defeat, the Choudwar-Cuttack MLA Pravat Biswal advised Rout not to poke his nose in party affairs of Cuttack unnecessarily.
On the other hand, the excise minister had asked, “Where were you, Pravat Biswal, when Biju Patnaik had handed over the party’s Cuttack charge to me after Biren Mitra joined Congress?”
“I studied and grew up as a leader in Cuttack. So now, when I see the party on a path of disintegration, it is distressing for me,” said had said Rout countering Biswal’s statement.
Rout’s known critic Bishnu Das also joined the choir Monday lashing Rout obliquely for embarrassing the ruling BJD by publicly blaming party leaders for the Cuttack defeat.
Das, however, had said Chief Minister and BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik has been watching the drama closely before taking appropriate action against those who undermined party’s reputation.