BJD asks suspended MP Baijayant Panda to resign from Lok Sabha on 'moral and ethical grounds'

Bhubaneswar: The ruling Biju Janata Dal on Friday asked its suspended MP Baijayant Panda to resign from the Lok Sabha on moral and ethical grounds. [caption id=“attachment_4318279” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Kendrapara MP Baijayant Jay Panda. Twitter@PandaJay[/caption] The BJD suspended Panda, the MP from Kendrapara, for alleged anti-party activities on 24 January. The party has also accused Panda of submitting a false affidavit before the Election Commission during the 2014 general elections, a charge denied by the leader. “Panda has concealed that he is working as an employee of IMFA and drawing crores of rupees as salary. What made him conceal this fact?,” BJD vice-president and party MLA Bedprakash Agarwal asked at a press conference in Bhubaneswar. He also concealed this in the affidavit dated 21 March, 2014 filed as part of his nomination papers for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Agarwal added. Panda has misled the party and the people of his constituency and “lost moral authority to continue as Member of Parliament from Kendrapara,” he said. Panda, however, claimed that the party is well aware of his family background and association with the organisation. “The allegations against me are totally false and baseless. I always consult top lawyers in the country while submitting affidavit before the EC,” Panda told reporters. Panda said he has been an MP for 18 years and the allegations levelled against me are of low-level. Panda was elected to Lok Sabha in 2009 and 2014 and had been a Rajya Sabha member from 2000 to 2009.