No internal democracy in BJD: Jual Oram

A day after BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik suspended Kendrapara MP Baijayant Panda from the party, senior BJP leader and Union Minister Jual Oram today alleged there is no internal democracy in the ruling Biju Janata Dal in Odisha.
"My personal feeling is that Panda was doing the right thing. There is no internal democracy in the ruling BJD," Oram, the Union Tribal Affairs Minister told reporters while referring to the suspension of Panda.
While defending Panda, Oram said though other senior BJD leaders like Damodar Rout, Tathagat Satpathy and Bhartruhari Mahatab and Nagendra Pradhan have given statement against their party, "no action" has been taken against them.

Oram claimed that the BJD would face the fate of the erstwhile Janata Dal in 1995.
"In 1995, no party leaders cared for Biju Babu. As a result, the government was unseated," he said.
The Union Minister said the ongoing intra-party "rebellion in the BJD will have decisive results".

Oram also alleged that there is 'officer raj' in Odisha.
"The Chief Minister is blindly listening to 2-3 officers without knowing the ground reality," Oram said.
Replying a question on possibility of Panda joining BJP, Oram said he has no such information. He also challenged BJD leaders to prove that Panda had supported the saffron party.

BJD spokesperson, Sameer Dash, said "Why Jual Oram is worried about our partys internal matters? There is no intra-party rift in BJD and Oram should be worried about his own party leaders including Bijoy Mohapatra and Dilip Ray.