Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik speaks to reporters at his residence on Wednesday. Telegraph picture

Bhubaneswar, Oct. 31: Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik today dismissed the allegations levelled by rebel BJD leader Pyari Mohan Mohapatra that he had made a secret pact with the Congress to suppress irregularities in the coal block scam.

“This allegation is totally false and baseless,” said Naveen while reacting to the charges on his return from his six-day trip to New Delhi today afternoon. Incidentally, both Naveen and Mohapatra arrived here today from Delhi by the same flight, but sources said they maintained a safe distance from each other.

Asked when and what disciplinary action would be taken against Mohapatra for the breach of party discipline, the BJD supremo quipped: “I will look into it.”

Mohapatra said: “I will welcome any action.”

On Sunday, Mohapatra, while addressing a rally of his newly floated outfit Odisha Jan Morcha, said: “The BJD has colluded with the Congress to sweep the irregularities in the coal block allocation under the carpet. According to the deal, the BJD will not take part in the debate on the coal block scam in the Lok Sabha in order to help the Congress.”

Naveen was away at New Delhi on the day the Morcha held its “Kranti Samabesh” here.

Mohapatra has floated Morcha, stating that it will strengthen the inner democracy within the BJD which has been “undermined by Naveen”. He has been carrying out campaign against Naveen, accusing him of sabotaging the party’s inner democracy, ever since his suspension from the party in the wake of May 29 failed coup against the Odisha chief minister.

The beleaguered leader also challenged the authority of Naveen, stating that he had ceased to exist as the party president as the party’s state executive had not met to ratify his election. “I have been telling him to convene the meeting of state council since the past two years. But, he has turned a deaf ear to my advice,” Mohapatra said.

Reacting to it, Naveen today dismissed the allegations as “false and baseless”.

Mohapatra, who was suspended from the party on June 1, has all along been maintaining that he had not breached the party discipline and attempted to dislodge the chief minister. “I have been in the BJD and the Morcha is not a new party, but a front to strengthen the inner democracy of the party,” he said.

Now, all eyes are set on Naveen to see the kind of action he takes against the Mohapatra brigade.

Mohapatra is reported to be planning to organise rallies of his Morcha at four other places, apart from Bhubaneswar. A Morcha leader said all these would aim to send a message to the BJD cadres that efforts to restore inner party democracy in the organisation would continue.