Congress accuses BJD of horse-trading in Odisha RS polls

BHUBANESWAR: Odisha Assembly today witnessed noisy scenes when opposition Congress accused ruling BJD and its supremo Naveen Patnaik of indulging in horse-trading in the Rajya Sabha biennial elections in the state.

Terming the process of taking in the party two Independent MLAs -- Jitu Patnaik from Champua and Braja Pradhan from Talcher -- a day before the Rajya Sabha polls as a "fraud on democracy," Leader of the Opposition Bhupinder Singh accused Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik of engineering unethical practice.

"Yesterday's incident proved that the state government can do everything to win the polls. Is it not horse trading to bring two Independent MLAs in the party fold a day before the Rajya Sabha elections?" Singh asked during Zero Hour.

Pradhan and Patnaik, however, clarified their move and claimed that they decided to become associate members of BJD to expedite development activities in Talcher and Champua.

Rejecting the opposition charge of horse-trading, Champua MLA Jitu Patnaik said, "It is Congress which used to indulge in horse trading...I supported the ruling party for effective development of my constituency."

Similarly, Talcher MLA Pradhan said, "There is no question of allurement in wake of Rajya Sabha elections. I supported an Independent candidate in the Rajya Sabha elections and not a BJD candidate."