Bhubaneswar, Oct 1 (IANS) Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Monday said the Odisha Jana Morcha, a forum launched by suspended Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader Pyarimohan Mohapatra, will have no effect on the people of the state.
“I think this morcha will not have any effect on the people. It seems to be just another ‘B’ team of the Congress party,” Patnaik said while responding to the move by Rajya Sabha member Pyari Mohan Mohapatra.
Mohapatra said he had launched the Odisha Jana Morcha to establish “internal democracy” in the state’s ruling party.
Although Mohapatra has not made any announcement, a leader on his behalf said Monday that details about the forum would be announced Oct 19.
“The forum has been launched. It will work to establish internal democracy and protect the rights of the workers in the party,” Morcha spokesperson Jagneswar Babu told IANS.
Mohapatra had been Patnaik’s non-official advisor for over a decade.
He was suspended from the party after he allegedly plotted a political coup to unseat Patnaik. The alleged unsuccessful coup May 29 had forced Patnaik to return from an official tour of Britain.
While opposition parties see the development as an outcome of the infighting within the ruling BJD, a BJD leader said the forum will not have any impact on the popularity of the BJD.
“If he (Mohapatra) has launched the forum to help the people of the state, it is welcome,” state Congress president Niranjan Patnaik said. “The formation of a morcha within the BJD demonstrates that not all is well in the ruling party.”
“This will give a push to the disintegration of the BJD,” Jual Oram, chief of the state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party, told IANS.
