Patnaik deputes 2 BJD leaders to attend JAC meeting in Chennai on delimitation

Bhubaneswar, Mar 21 (PTI) Opposition BJD in Odisha on Friday nominated two senior leaders to represent the party in the meeting of the joint action committee (JAC) on delimitation in Chennai.

The Naveen Patnaik-led BJD in a statement said that former minister Sanjay Das Burma and former MP Amar Patnaik would attend the meeting convened by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Saturday.

“Odisha is among the eight states that have controlled population and significantly contributed to the economic growth of the country. Now, the central government has plans to undertake the delimitation process only on the criteria of population. Therefore, Odisha is likely to be affected,” Das Burma said.

Asked whether Odisha will stand to lose Parliament and assembly seats, he said Saturday’s meeting will give an indication in this regard.

“Whatever the case may be, the BJD is committed to fight for the rights of Odisha,” he asserted.

The ruling BJP, however, said there was no point for the BJD to join the meeting.

“The regional party is out of power and about to be finished soon. Their presence or absence in the meeting of states does not matter,” senior BJP leader and Odisha minister K C Patra said.

Earlier on March 11, a two-member delegation of Tamil Nadu’s ruling DMK comprising TRB Rajaa and Dayanidhi Maran had met Patnaik - Odisha’s Leader of Opposition - and invited him to attend the meeting on delimitation.

The delegation also had urged Patnaik to make the BJD, which was in power in Odisha for 24 years, a part of the JAC over the Centre’s proposal for redrawing of constituencies solely on the basis of population.

Patnaik’s go-ahead for the BJD to be a part of the meeting was criticised by BJP’s Odisha unit, which accused the BJD of getting closer to the DMK.

"While the whole country is in favour of delimitation, the DMK is trying to take forward their ever-divisive agenda. Now that the Biju Janata Dal is also joining in, it proves that even now the party is not free from the Tamil imprint," Odisha BJP spokesperson Anil Biswal had said.

In response, the BJD said, “Perhaps the Odisha BJP party is suffering from Tamil Nadu jaundice. What is wrong if some regional and national political parties discuss the delimitation issue among themselves? The Odisha BJP need not be reactive.” The DMK has been reaching out to leaders of different parties, including those also within the NDA like Chandrababu Naidu, to discuss the delimitation issue.

Stalin had earlier written to his counterparts in Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana, West Bengal, Punjab, Odisha, inviting them to join hands with the state and be part of the JAC for an “uncompromising fight” over delimitation of Lok Sabha seats, which he termed as an “unfair exercise”.

He proposed the inaugural JAC meeting in Chennai on March 22, and urged the leaders to join forces to chart a “collective course forward”. PTI AAM RBT

Source: PTI