Bhubaneswar, July 1: All-India Congress Committee general secretary in charge of Odisha B.K. Hariprasad today met party legislatures to elicit their views on the demand to remove legislature party chief whip Tara Prasad Bahinipati by a section of its MLAs, said sources.

Sources said a group of Congress MLAs had signed a petition demanding the removal of Bahinipati as chief whip and sent it to the party high command. Hariprasad met 13 MLAs individually and sought their opinion on the demand. However, Congress legislature party leader Narasingha Mishra, deputy leader Chiranjib Biswal and MLA Debendra Sharma were absent as they were away from the city.

Sources said Hariprasad heard the views of the MLAs and advised them not to divulge anything to the media. He also invited some leaders to Delhi to discuss the matter with the high command.

Some MLAs, who met with Hariprasad, said on the condition of anonymity that they visited Delhi to meet party leaders and demanded the removal of Bahinipati. However, they had to return after failing failed to get an appointment with Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

Hariprasad, however, told newspersons that the Pradesh Congress Committee was preparing an action plan on violation of the Forest Rights Act. "It will be ready within a week or two," he said.