Bhubaneswar, March 18 (IANS) Senior Congress leader Niranjan Patnaik Tuesday accused the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) of "rank opportunism" and of turning Odisha politics into a "theatre of the absurd".
Niranjan who is a former president of the state unit of the Congress said the ruling party, led by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, is looking for ways to poach from other parties just to weaken the opposition and somehow win the election.
"In a democracy, opposition represents an ideological divide and a set of alternative agenda," Niranjan said.
Accusing the chief minister of attempting to create a smoke screen around his party's failure and divert public attention from important political issues, the Congress leader said he hoped people would reject the kind of politics being played in the state.
He said Odisha has become the most backward state in the country after 14 years of BJD rule and despite huge central assistance in the last decade.
"BJD is trying to create a situation as if there are no issues, no ideological divide and election is about rank opportunism," he said, referring to the entrance of several leaders of other parties in the BJD.
"Naveen 'babu' wants to appear to be acceptable as a leader to everybody. This cannot be good for democracy, nor is there any statesmanship evident in what is going on," said Niranjan.
"Odisha deserves better politics than this. After 14 years in politics, BJD is unable to find winning candidates in many areas and is therefore poaching for leaders from other parties," he said.
"This cannot be construed as either good or an indicator of success. What Naveen 'babu' has done is not based on any 'principle' or 'ideology'. This is just Machiavellian power play," he said.
The senior Congress leader also expressed his sadness that the opposition failed to sort out internal issues despite his repeated and timely advice and created an impression of abject capitulation to BJD's opportunist brand of politics.
Congress steps up attack on Modi over marital status
New Delhi, April 11 (IANS) BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi has violated the law by hiding his marital status till now, Congress leader Kapil Sibal said Friday."The Congress is not
Uttar Pradesh: Girl students of Kasturba Balika Vidyalaya will get vocational training, instructions issued
Yogi Adityanath's government in Uttar Pradesh will help girls become self-reliant by giving them vocational training in schools. The training partners of the Skill Development Mission will be imparted
Mask mandatory again: increasing cases of corona increased concern, it is necessary to wear in these districts including Lucknow, Noida
In some states bordering Uttar Pradesh, there is an increase in the cases of Covid. Keeping this in mind, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has given instructions to make the wearing of masks mandatory
Pakistan: After the attack, Imran Khan decided to stop the march, and said - will start after recovery
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Friday that he is stopping his march in the capital Islamabad. He took this decision when one day an assailant opened fire on his convoy. Imran Khan
Sanitation minister inspects Meghalaya village
Shillong, Feb 1 (IANS) Ram Kripal Yadav, union minister of state for drinking water and sanitation, Sunday visited a village in Meghalaya, interacted with villagers and looked at the condition of
Raisina Dialogue: Italy's PM Meloni arrives in Delhi, Chief Guest of the 8th Raisina Dialogue, PM will inaugurate
Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has reached New Delhi for a two-day state visit. Many senior officials including the Minister of State for External Affairs have been present on the spot at the
Corona continues to wreak havoc in UP, breaks all old records, 20510 new patients found in one day
The state of coronavirus is getting worse in the country's largest state Uttar Pradesh by population. The virus has broken all the old records here. The state has received 20,510 new cases during the
India has Made notable Progress on MDGs: UN
New Delhi, Feb 4 (IANS) India has made notable progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) set for 2015, but much needs to be done on the fronts of poverty and education, a
Elect a Government Accountable to me: Modi to Delhiites (Lead)
New Delhi, Feb 1 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday called for a BJP government in Delhi, saying the national capital needs an administration which works in harmony with the Centre and is
India-West Indies 2nd T20 today: Team India has a chance to equal Pakistan's record, see the playing-11 of both the teams
The second match of the five-match T20I series between India and West Indies will be played at Basseterre (St Kitts) on Monday. If Team India, leading 1-0 in the series, wins this match, then it will
