Tell me about your complaints, not media: Naveen Patnaik to partymen

Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik.

Amid a row over BJD MP Bhartruhari Mahtab’s criticism of the party in newspaper articles, Odisha Chief Minister and party chief Naveen Patnaik on Sunday said that senior leaders should come to him with complaints instead of going to the media. “If senior leaders have anything negative to say, they should come to me with their complaints and not go to media,” Naveen said after a column by Mahtab appeared in Odia daily Prajatantra on Sunday. The MP, who is leader of the BJD’s parliamentary party, edits and owns Prajatantra. In another article in Odia daily Nirbhay, published on April 25, Mahtab had criticised BJD leaders for their desperation over the BJP’s expansion strategy.

In Sunday’s column, Mahtab criticised senior party leaders Damodar Rout and Surya Patro for their remarks on his article last week. Clarifying that the article was not meant to target them, he expressed unhappiness over workers at the grassroots not being invited to the party’s district-level meetings. Warning that these leaders would revolt if they feel that their presence in party is meaningless, Mahtab wrote that the MLAs should be asked to cement the cracks in their respective constituencies.

Slamming Mahtab, BJD spokesperson Suryo Patro asked how the Cuttack MP was elected to Lok Sabha five times if the party workers were not working at the grassroots. “He should remember that nobody voted for him; people voted for Naveen Patnaik,” Patro said. He added that the CM’s remark shows that he disapproves of Mahtab’s articles.