Bhubaneswar: Senior BJP leader Jagannath Pradhan met with BJP State President Manmohan Samal at the party office in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday evening, amidst demands from the Odisha Administrative Service (OAS) Association for his arrest over the alleged assault on Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) Additional Commissioner.
The meeting, described as a “family discussion” by Pradhan, was attended by senior party leaders, and Pradhan expressed his views before the disciplinary committee. However, both Samal and Pradhan remained tight-lipped about the discussion’s details.
Pradhan’s meeting with party leadership sparked rumours of major incidents, with his supporters gathering outside and a large police force deployed for security. Before the meeting, Pradhan wrote on social media, he would cooperate with any legal action. He claimed the incident was being politicised by opposition parties.
Manmohan Samal stated that the government is well aware of the incident and will take the right call on the OAS Association’s demand. He emphasised that party discussions are internal affairs and should not be publicly disclosed.
The OAS Association has demanded Pradhan’s immediate arrest, provision of adequate security for field-level executive officers, and public condemnation of the brutal assault on the BMC additional Commissioner Ratnakar Sahoo.