Bhubaneswar: Expelled Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader Pradeep Panigrahi Tuesday attacked the people who are allegedly behind his expulsion and urged the top officials of the Home department and the police for a fair probe against him.
He said, “There have been attempts at the local level, with the help of police and others, to disturb and defame me. I want to appeal to the Director General of Police (DGP) and the Home Secretary to have an independent enquiry committee against me and probe allegations leveled against me.”
He also said that he had faith in Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. “It is tough for me to believe that the Chief Minister who groomed me with love and affection can do anything like that which happened to me. I want to know if whatever is happening to me is done with his knowledge or without his knowledge. I want to get a clear answer from the CM,” he said.
He also added, “I tried several times to approach the CM. Since I didn’t connect to him over the phone despite several attempts, I was compelled to write a letter to the Chief Minister.”
Panigrahi also defended his chartered flight travel and said, “I attended a social function in Pune and used a chartered plane. Everything was used with the permission of the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Airports Authority of India (AAI). If anybody finds any misdoing on my part, he/she is free to attack me and punish me.”
“However, let there be an enquiry into the people involved in my expulsion. Let there be an enquiry and the reports submitted to the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”
