Bhubaneswar: Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) President Bhakta Charan Das on Sunday said the upcoming Vice-Presidential election is a “historic moment” for the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) to take a decisive stand on its political positioning.
Das said that for long, there has been speculation that the BJD and BJP are “two sides of the same coin.” “If this is not the case, now is the time for the BJD to prove it,” he remarked, urging the regional party to support the INDIA bloc candidate. He noted that while the BJD managed to secure 51 MLAs in the Assembly polls, none of its candidates could win a Lok Sabha seat.
Several MLAs also lost due to “flawed decisions,” he claimed. “Even BJD leaders in the Rajya Sabha are asking the party to back the INDIA alliance. Naveen Babu’s decision will decide the future course of the party,” Das said.
Questioning why the BJD continues to remain under pressure despite the Central government having “no courage to touch” Naveen Patnaik, Das asserted that abstaining from the Vice-Presidential poll would amount to supporting the BJP. “Such a large party should not be allowed to deteriorate in this manner,” he said.
Turning his attack to student issues, the OPCC chief slammed the government for failing to hold student union elections since 2018. He pointed out that many past student leaders have risen to prominence in state and national politics.
“Both the BJD and BJP governments are guilty of denying students their democratic rights. Why is the government afraid of student leaders? The time has come to restore student union elections,” Das said at a Congress press conference.
