Bhubaneswar: Palpable tension gripped the Sambalpur Collectorate following a brawl between BJP leaders and workers and the police today. Amid high-pitched sloganeering, there was an altercation between local MLA and Leader of Opposition in Odisha Assembly, Jayanarayan Mishra and Dhanupali IIC Anitarani Pradhan and her staff.
According to Mishra, the BJP MLA pushed her during the heated exchange of words. The BJP veteran, who has a knack of landing himself right in the soup, however, denied having manhandled the woman cop.
“I was pushed and manhandled by the IIC. I was initially sitting on a chair. When I came to know that our women activists were being mistreated by police, I stood up,” he said.
Jayanarayan added, “I did not push anyone. The IIC pushed me saying that I was speaking too much against the police. I didn’t push the cop.
However, the woman IIC said that she neither touched nor push the MLA. The incident escalated tension in the area which was witnessing protests by the BJP over the law and order situation in the State.
