Bhubaneswar, Nov 17 (Odisha.in) Sending out a strong message to his dissidents, Odisha chief minister
Naveen Patnaik on Friday expelled Rajya Sabha member Pyarimohan Mohapatra from the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) for anti party activities, less than six months after suspending him.
Patnaik also expelled party general secretary Jagyenswar Babu, a close aide of Mohapatra on similar charges.
The chief minister announced the decision after one and half hour meeting of the state executive here that was allegedly held after a gap of more than two years.
“At the meeting of the state executive, a decision has been taken to expel, remove Pyarimohan Mohapatra and Jagneswar Babu from the party,” Patnaik told reporters here.
Reacting to the decision, Mohapatra said the chief minister ceases to be the president of the BJD as per the constitution and he has no power to suspend or expel anybody in the party.
The BJD has 27 lakh workers and more than 20 lakh of them are not happy the way the chief minister has been running the party. I will go to them, Mohapatra told reporters.
Mohapatra was Naveen Patnaik’s non-official advisor for over a decade. Challenging Patnaik’s leadership, he launched the Odisha Jana Morcha, a political forum (OJM) on Oct 1 saying he wants to “establish internal democracy” in the state’s ruling party.
Mohapatra believed to have drawn the ire of the chief minister after he launched a successful rally-the first one of the Odisha Jana Morcha, at state capital Bhubaneswar on October 23.
His expulsion comes ahead of the second rally the OJM is organizing at the district headquarters town of Bhabanipatna, about 420 kms from state capital Bhubaneswar, to demonstrate strength.
Odisha.in