Four Janata Dal leaders join BJD, more to follow

Patnaik said he was extremely happy over the four leaders’ decision to strengthen the BJD by joining it. Moves are afoot to rope in five more Janata Dal legislators into the party. Some of the MLAs were believed to have met Patnaik at the latter’s residence here on Sunday and discussed the modalities of their joining.

The defection of the four leaders, who were close associates of late Biju Patnaik, has given a serious blow to the Janata Dal which is half-dead in Orissa.

A beaming Patnaik, however, was non-committal about the joining of the five Dal MLAs and said nothing was certain at the moment. But he hastened toadd that there would be “good news after good news”.

In a statement, the four leaders said that they chose to join a “viable opposition” like BJD to strengthen the party in its fight against “increasing corruption, deteriorating law and order, and patronisation of political immorality under Congress rule”. They described Naveen Patnaik as the “worthy son of a worthy father” and said they would support his political cause against the Congress. Their joining the BJD may prove beneficial to Patnaik in his struggle against the party rebels who hail mostly from coastal Orissa. Three of the four leaders are from coastal Orissa and are anti-Bijay Mohapatra, the chairman of the BJD’s Political Affairs Committee and a Patnaik baiter.

AGITATION: Patnaik said his party would launch an agitational programme throughout the state against hike in water tax, anti-farmer policy, and exploitation of women. The agitation would be launched at the block level.

Patnaik said that he agreed with the rebels in the BJDabout the need for a CBI probe into the horse trading in the last Rajya Sabha elections. He would certainly request the Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to order a CBI enquiry into anything that looks doubtful in the state.