Ally NCP too questions Naveens authority

BHUBANESWAR: A day after Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik asserted that he is the only power centre in the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), Arun Dey, a senior leader of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) raised the issue yet again.  It is ridiculous for a Chief Minister to assert that he is the boss, Dey told mediapersons here on Monday.  NCP is an alliance partner of BJD. Dey said Rajya Sabha member Pyarimohan Mohapatra is the only power centre in the BJD. Alleging that the Chief Minister has abdicated the responsibility of administering the state, Dey said even important files are being sent to the power centre for  ‘’vetting’’.  Stating that somebody else is running the show in the BJD for the last several years, Dey said that the Chief Minister should hand over the reins to Mohapatra. The situation in the BJD is such that anyday Pyaribabu can be the Chief Minister, he said. Dey thanked Rout for raising the issue in the BJD openly for the first time. Rout, however, told this paper that he is happy with the Chief Minister’s clarification that about power centre. Naveen had asserted on Sunday that there was no other power centre in the BJD other than him and all decisions were taken by him. Asked whether he fears disciplinary action against him after his outbursts against the Chief Minister and the real power centre in the BJD, Rout said that there is no reason for this. “I see no reason for going out of the party anywhere,” he said. Rout, however, said that politics can be done without a political party. Asked whether he will join the Congress or BJP if he is suspended from the BJD, the former minister said there is no question of going anywhere from the BJD.