Suspended BJD MP Panda refutes 'utterly false' allegations

Suspended Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MP Bijayant Panda on Saturday said the allegations against him are "utterly false".

Talking to ANI at the memorial of Biju Patnaik in Puri, Panda said, "I am shocked after my suspension my colleagues found all faults with me which they never did in two decades. Allegations are utterly false. The only fault I had was speaking the truth. Everyone knows who hijacked the party. Had Biju babu been alive he would have appreciated it".

Earlier in the day, the BJD demanded the resignation of Panda.

The party sought his resignation from the Lok Sabha on the ground that Panda allegedly had not disclosed that he was drawing a salary as the vice-chairman of a mining company - Indian Metals and Ferro Alloys Limited (IMFA).

On January 24, BJD President and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had suspended Panda from the primary membership of the party with immediate effect for 'anti-party activities '.

Patnaik said that Panda's conduct during the Panchayat Raj Institutions (PRI) elections was totally against the interests of the BJD and its functionaries who have been responsible for sending him to the Parliament four times.

It is to be noted that Panda did not campaign for the party candidates even in his own constituency during the PRI elections,

However, Panda denied the allegations and called them "entirely false and baseless".

In May 2017, he was sacked from the post of BJD spokesperson after he criticised the party and had a Twitter spat with party colleague Tathagat Satpathy.

-ANI