Jayadev Jena started his second innings

Newly appointed president of the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) Jaydev Jena started his second innings with more than a dozen senior Congress leaders at the inaugural function held at the party headquarters on Sunday.

Former working president Lalatendu Bidyadhar Mohapatra, former OPCC vice-president Anant Prasad Sethi, media cell chairman Narasingh Mishra, several other senior leaders and a dozen MLAs were absent at the function where Union Minister Srikant Jena dominated the proceedings.

“Congress people worked together to throw the BJP government to the Arabian Sea. We should resolve to stay united and hurl the corrupt BJD government in Odisha to the Bay of Bengal,” he said. “Let there be no felicitation till we come to power,” he told the meeting, organized to felicitate him.

“There are many issues which expose how corrupt and inefficient the Naveen government is. We should highlight those across the state and rid the people of BJD’s misrule,” he said from a stage which was shared by a host of senior Congress leaders, including former CMs Hemananda Biswal and Giridhar Gamang, Union minister Srikant Jena, leader of opposition Bhupinder Singh, Congress whip Prasad Harichandan, AICC spokesperson Bhakta Das, ex-OPCC president Sarat Patnaik and former Union minister Kanhu Lenka.

Former OPCC president Niranjan Patnaik, who could not attend the function as he was away at New Delhi after being called by AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi for a meeting on Monday, sent a letter to Jena which was read out at the function.

“My support will be there in all your endeavour to strengthen the party in the State,” Niranjan wrote, informing Jena about his inability to attend the function. “I am writing to you as otherwise the Opposition may give other meaning to my absence,” he said.

Stating that Niranjan had brought him to politics, Jena said there should not be any comparison between his tenure and the second stint allowed by the high command for him as the State party chief.

Referring to those who remained absent, Jena said the Congress will move on and not wait for anybody.

Jena reminded the leaders about the stand taken by Rahul Gandhi that indiscipline would not be tolerated in the party. “When I met him at New Delhi after being appointed as the OPCC president, Rahul emphasised on discipline and asked me to ease the leaders out who created indiscipline,” he said.