Pajero row: BJD asks Dharmendra to get his house in order

Odisha Sun Times Bureau 
Bhubaneswar, Apr 21: 

A day after Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan took a dig at Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for not acting against Sanjay Das Burma in connection with his alleged involvement in chit fund companies, ruling BJD reacted sharply and asked Pradhan to get his house in order.

“BJP or Union Minister Pradhan has got nothing to do with our party affairs. Instead, he should care to sort out the factions in his own party,” said BJD Spokesperson Pratap Deb.

Stepping up the attack even further, Deb added that Pradhan doesn’t have any moral right to raise the morality issue as he himself faced similar situations in the past yet did not give up his position.

“Where is the question of morality? Even before asking such a question to Naveen, he should remember his past where he also faced similar situations. If a mention of the name along with an accused is the issue, he should lead by example and start the tradition of resignation on moral grounds given his name appeared in the IT return papers of the VYAPAM scam main accused,” Deb added.

Bringing up the criminal-politician nexus, he questioned, “When the Dhalasamanta issue and Pradhan’s alleged involvement with them came up, he had said that one is innocent until proven guilty. Does this apply only for him?”

It may be noted that Pradhan yesterday gunned for Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare (FS &CW) Minister Sanjay Das Burma’s head on moral grounds while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the annual function of the Ravenshaw University Students’ Union.

“The question of morality should be asked to the Chief Minister. He always tries to pass the buck by saying- law will take its course. He has to be answerable to the people of the state. There is a mutiny in his party over this issue,” Pradhan had said.