The BJD MP also hinted at a “big deal” between the “chief advisor” and the BJP.”There has been a big deal. The chief advisor has made some kind of arrangement with the BJP. A bureaucrat who has recently taken voluntary retirement may be part of this deal. You all know who has recently taken VRS. I leave it to your understanding,” Samantray said.Senior Odisha cadre IAS officer Sujata R Karthikeyan, the wife of BJD president Naveen Patnaik’s former close aide V K Pandian, recently took voluntary retirement from government service.Karthikeyan, a 2000-batch Odisha cadre officer, was serving as the special secretary in Odisha’s finance department.At least two senior BJD leaders – Prafulla Samal and Pratap Jena – have written letters to Patnaik demanding action against Patra for “going against the party stand by voting in support of Waqf Bill”.Also, Ganeswar Behera, the sitting MLA of Muslim-dominated Kendrapara assembly segment, also criticised Patra, questioning, “Who gave Patra the authority to change the party president’s decision?””He has committed a mistake for which he is liable to action. Only BJD president has the authority to change the decision of the parliamentary party and nobody else,” he told reporters, adding that this amounts to gross indiscipline.Both Samal and Jena, in their letters to Patnaik, stated that the BJD continues to fight for the socio-economic development of minority communities including Muslims.”However, instead of winning the trust of the minority communities, such action of Patra has caused damage to the party’s image. Therefore, I urge you to take action as deemed fit,” Samal said.
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