BHUBANESWAR: With an apparent aim to woo the tribal electorate, state BJP president K VSinghdeo on Saturday started the second phase of his statewide mass contact campaign fromKalahandi district, saying the ruling BJD would stand exposed once the Justice M B Shah Commission submits its report on illegalities in the mining sector in Odisha.
"The Shah commission report would unmask the BJD," Singhdeo told a public meeting at Kesinga, hours after he embarked on Phase II of his campaign from Amath. He further ruled out any poll pact with any party and took an indirect dig at the BJD, dubbing the latter as 'backstabber'. "There is no question of tying up with those who stab from behind and are responsible for Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati's killing," he said, scotching all speculation of a possible pre-poll pact between the BJP and BJD.
Singhdeo, who took as the state BJP chief from Jual Oram on March 13, had during the first phase of his campaign, which started from Hindol in Dhenkanal district on March 29, made it clear that the saffron party would make the slaying of Saraswati in Kandhamal in 2008 an election issue during the next assembly and general elections slated in 2014.
BJD's MLA from Dharmagarh (in Kalahandi) Pushpendra Singh Deo rubbished the BJP allegation, saying: "Blaming BJD for Saraswati's killing is baseless."
The state BJP chief would over the next six days tour Nuapada, Nabarangpur, Rayagada, Malkangiri, Koraput and Gajapati districts to addressing public gatherings, party sources said.
Meanwhile, a BJP delegation comprising Khariar MLA Hitesh Bagarti, Umesh Khandelwal and Anil Dhir visited the village of Sunari Sikuan in Khariar block to meet the family of Baikuntha Sabar, who was last week found dead after allegedly killing his wife Munga. Sabar was a landless tribal.
"They have left behind four young daughters and old parents. The children are severely malnourished and their old grandparents are in no condition to take care of them. What is surprising is that no one from the administration has come forward to help them," Dhir said.
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