Bhubaneswar: Amid growing unrest within the BJD over the Waqf Bill voting controversy, senior leader and former Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MLA Prabhat Tripathy on Thursday accused BJD president Naveen Patnaik of "telling lies" to divert attention from the issue.
About Tripathy's Comments
Tripathy’s comments came after Patnaik claimed that Tripathy had been expelled from the party years ago due to his alleged involvement in a chit fund case and subsequent jail term. “He does not belong to the BJD,” Patnaik recently said.
Refuting this claim, Tripathy said he was only suspended for a brief period and was actively involved in campaigning for the BJD during the 2024 General Elections. "The party used me at different times," he said at a press conference, showing a letter to support his statement.
“It is a blatant lie to say I am not with the party. I was suspended for a few days, but continued to work for the BJD afterward. The party leadership is using me as a scapegoat to cover up the Waqf Bill controversy,” Tripathy alleged.
Regarding the chit fund case, Tripathy said the matter is still sub judice and he has not been convicted. “Despite the allegations, I was a member of the party as recently as yesterday. In 2019, I delivered a speech at a BJD meeting attended by Naveen Patnaik himself. Post-COVID, I was involved in various party activities, including campaigning across several constituencies in 2024. Any BJD worker can confirm this,” he asserted.
On VK Pandian, Tripathy added, “The man often called the BJD’s second power centre spoke in my favour during an election rally in 2024, even when I wasn’t present. The video of that speech went viral. He also acknowledged my contribution during the midnight operation in 2012.”
Tripathy concluded by questioning the credibility of Patnaik’s statement: “To deny my association with the BJD just to deflect attention from the Waqf Bill issue—is that befitting of a leader of Naveen Patnaik’s stature?”
