"Money" behind Orissa JD split

BHUBANESWAR, DEC 17: Money played a vital role in the formation of the new regional outfit Biju Janata Dal (BJD), alleged State Janata Dal ...

BHUBANESWAR, DEC 17: Money played a vital role in the formation of the new regional outfit Biju Janata Dal (BJD), alleged State Janata Dal president Ashok Das. Addressing a news conference here on Tuesday, Das said a group of Dal MLAs were lured by the “business group” who engineered the split in his party. The Dal leader, however, refrained from specifically pin-pointing those who had reportedly sponsored the `MLAs’ purchase.’

“The ruling Congress and BJP were involved in the split, otherwise why would Pramod Mahajan, general secretary of BJP, visit Bhubaneswar a day before the split”, he questioned, but declined to elaborate.

Das refrained from directly attacking Patnaik even as he alleged that machinations of `businessmen and traders’ had resulted in the split. “There is nothing more unfortunate than Patnaik becoming a victim of conspiracy by the BJP”, he added. Das claimed that several times he had offered the post of party president to Patnaik and each time he had declined. Das questioned the very premise on which the regional party was floated, by stating that after the recent developments a one-to-one contest against the Congress, would become impossible. “The floating of the regional party was a pre-planned scheme to help the Congress”, he added.

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Meanwhile, Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Tourism and JD leader Srikant Jena, continuing his tirade against the Congress, BJP hand in the JD split, made light of the one-to-one formula against Congress floated by the Dal rebels stating that it had no relevance in the present political scenario. He said that when the Congress was on a disintegration process, talking of one-to-one fight against it had no meaning. The Janata Dal along with the Left allies would be capable of defeating the Congress, he added, and asserted that the United Front would form the next government at the Centre.

Where do these MLAs stand

Confusion over the number of MLAs reposing their loyalty to the two groups of the Janata Dal persists, with both the sides claiming the support at least four legislators.

While the breakaway group, Biju Janata Dal, submitted a list with signature of 31 MLAs to Speaker Chintamani Dyan Samantra, Dal president Ashok Das today claimed at a news conference that his party has the support of 19 MLAs.

The signatures of Hrushikesh Nayak, Bijay Ranjan Singh Bariha and Arjun Charan Sethi were in the breakaway group’s list, and Das claims that they were with the real Janata Dal.

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Besides, the names of former ministers Jadav Majhi and Raghunath Hembrum are in both the lists.

Sethi admitted that he had signed a memorandum a month ago demanding appointment of Naveen Patnaik as the State unit Dal president. But he did not sign on the list submitted by the rebels to the Speaker.