Bhubaneswar, July 7: The tussle between the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) and its legislature wing intensified further today with the party's chief whip Tara Prasad Bahinipati stating that they would approach the high command against the "language being used by the OPCC leaders at the behest of the party leadership".
Bahinipati today accused the leadership of being disrespectful towards party MLAs and even towards the leader of Opposition. "There is a limit to everything. We will no longer tolerate any kind of indiscipline, disrespect or goondaism. We will put in our best effort to save the Congress. We will also meet Sonia Gandhi and apprise her of these problems," said Bahinipati.
He alleged that OPCC president Prasad Harichandan and his father-in-law Suresh Routray, who were defeated in the last general elections, have no respect for the MLAs and leaders of the party.
"They even dared to pass derogatory remarks against the leader of Opposition," he said. Stating that the Congress Bhavan, the party headquarters, is nobody's "personal property", Bahinipati said: "Because of goondaism, many senior Congress leaders refrained from going to Congress Bhavan."
Congress leader Suresh Routray, however, said: "While many MLAs, including Chiranjeev Biswal and Naba Kishore Das, had remained silent, Bahinipati continues to make remarks against the OPCC president. He should remember that Prasad was appointed by Sonia Gandhi and not by him. The Congress belongs to the general public and not to a few MLAs. Let them do whatever they want to do. We will also take up the issue with the leadership." Routray said Bahinipati "should not teach them on how to garner support during a presidential election".
The infighting between the party and its legislature wing had forced UPA's presidential nominee Meira Kumar to cancel her trip to the state. AICC general secretary and in-charge of Odisha B.K. Hariprasad, who had come to Bhubaneswar by air before the scheduled arrival of Meira Kumar, returned to Delhi on July 3 from the airport once he got to know that her visit had been postponed. He did not meet the party MLAs.
Later, leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra had issued a statement saying that Hariprasad had called him up from the airport. Mishra had told him that he could meet the MLAs later as he was scheduled to visit the state again.
Amidst the tug of war, the OPCC today held rallies at block levels to protest against the state and Centre's apathy towards farmers. The Congress demanded that the minimum support price of paddy be enhanced to Rs 3,000 per quintal and waive all crop loans.
