Arup faces police complaint by BJP for veiled threat to LoP Jayanarayan Mishra

By A  Iswar Rao

BHUBANESWAR, FEB. 17: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday lodged a complaint against the former Mumbai Police Commissioner and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader Arup Patnaik at the Capital Police Station here for his “veiled threat” to Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Jayanarayan Mishra.

Besides, a BJP delegation led by Opposition chief whip and Mohan Majhi also moved the Odisha Governor seeking protection for the Leader of Opposition.

While addressing BJD workers on Thursday over the alleged tussle between LoP Mr Mishra and a lady police inspector named Anita Pradhan, the BJD leader without taking the name of former (LoP) had said, “Had we been present there during the scuffle, he would have been dealt with appropriate response.”

The BJP interpreted the former top cop’s words as a “veiled threat” to “kill” Jayanarayan Mishra.

“Instead of apprehending the culprits and conspirators involved in the assassination of health minister Naba Kishore Das, the state government is hatching a conspiracy to arrest the Leader of Opposition so that he doesn’t create anything that will put the government on the back foot during the Assembly session,” alleged BJP leader Mohan Majhi.

He further alleged that the lady inspector had attacked Jayanarayan Mishra first during a protest rally over the murder of state health minister, forcing the LoP to push him aside in self-defence.

“There is a conspiracy by the state government not to allow Jayanarayan Mishra into the Assembly for the upcoming budget session. We have lodged a complaint demanding immediate arrest of BJD leader Arup Patnaik. The BJP is also demanding adequate security for Jayanarayan Mishra,” Majhi added.

 In another development, the BJP launched an attack on the BJD-led Odisha government by raking up the issue of law and order alleging that the situation has gone for a toss in the state in the backdrop of the recent killing of health minister Naba Kishore Das.

Addressing a presser in Bhubaneswar, BJP Yuva Morcha President, Irashish Acharya questioned the silence of Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

“People in Odisha have started realizing that CM Naveen Patnaik, who also heads the home department, is not taking action on sensitive issues and is maintaining silence. The way health minister Naba Das was killed is highly condemnable,” said Acharya.

Acharya said that the BJP has been staging demonstrations at various places in Odisha, but the CM so far has not uttered a single word on the issue.

“BJP Yuva Morcha will intensify its agitation and for the next three days will burn the effigy of CM Naveen Patnaik in each Assembly Constituency,” said Acharya while demanding CBI probe into the  Naba Das murder case.