Bhubaneswar: The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) today suspended Shreemayee Mishra, General Secretary of the party’s women’s affairs, for alleged involvement in antiparty activities. The move comes after a series of her cryptic social media posts triggered discomfiture within the party leadership.

In an official statement, the BJD announced party president Naveen Patnaik had suspended Mishra with immediate effect.

Reacting to her suspension, Mishra wrote on social media, “I have never compromised on my self-esteem and self-pride, nor will I do so in the future. As I have not renewed my membership for the past one year, my suspension from a party I no longer belonged to is only laughable.”

She further added, “Under the misguided influence of a non-Odia, a leader who has ruled the state for so long, playing with the self-esteem of an Odia daughter is hardly logical; the judgment is yours. It has now been proved that the heir of a legendary leader, who always called for giving respect to women, is not capable of taking decisions on his own. To prove that I am truly an Odia daughter, I will never sacrifice my self-esteem.”

Alongside her, Subas Chandra Sai, former block president of Kaptipada, and Prabir Chandra Sai, former district secretary of Mayurbhanj, were also suspended for similar charges.

A few days ago, Mishra had posted on social media: “Someone who has renounced all pleasures and bonding in life can be termed a Sanyasi (saint). But there are many people in society who claim to be saints while still clinging to pleasure and ambition. These people are fake saints (Bhanda Sanyasi).”

While Mishra later claimed the post was inspired by a popular web series directed by Prakash Jha, political observers believe it was a veiled dig at BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik’s close aide, VK Pandian.

Several party leaders, including Anshu Tripathy and Ila Swain, had openly criticised Mishra over her remarks. This was not the first time she had courted controversy as earlier, she had alluded to senior party leaders as Dhritarashtra and his silent courtiers from the Mahabharata, accusing them of remaining mute spectators to injustice.