 "No split in BJD, MLAs only discussed grievances: Mohapatra")
As Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik raced back to India from London after a rumoured split in the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), MP Pyarimohan Mohapatra who is alleged to have held a meeting in which dissident MLAs were present, denied any plan to divide the party. Mohapatra, who reportedly held a meeting with multiple ministers in the Odisha government and other political leaders yesterday night, said there was no question of splitting the party. “We had a lot of discussions earlier. There is no dissent in the party. Grievances have increased because the party organisation is not looked after properly to the extent that the mandate has been given.But the party is not heading for a split,” he said. [caption id=“attachment_325590” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Naveen Patnaik is returning from London a day earlier allegedly due to the rumoured split in the party. Reuters”]  [/caption] “Naveen Patnaik will be the leader of the party. I don’t know why he is cutting short his foreign trip and perhaps he should be asked,” Mohapatra said. Leaders who met him had expressed opposition to the fact that they were being ignored by the state bureaucracy, he added. Mohapatra said the meeting was held to discuss the nationwide bandh planned on 31 May to protest against the hike in petrol prices. Meanwhile BJD MP BJ Panda also said there was no rebellion within the party and called the rumoured split in the party a creation of the media. “I think it is the fault of the media. A few MPs had met and when media asked him whether they were splitting away from the party, they said Biju Patnaik was still their leader which has been read too much into,” he said. We should remember that Naveen Patnaik is not just the Chief Minister but also the founder of the party, Panda said. “Events will show what will turn out. If there is a rift it is very clear who is the leader of the party, it is very clear who is the choice of the people and who has the mandate,” the Rajya Sabha MP said.
BJD MPs including Pyarimohan Mohapatra, who held a meeting with MPs who were allegedly planning to split the party, have denied any plan to divide the party.
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