With elections round the corner, politicians here are trying their best to endear themselves to their party leaders and people as well. They are even warding off a slightest comment made against them by rivals.
An interesting situation has arisen in the Kantabanji Assembly constituency after former MLA Santosh Singh Saluja, in a statement to a TV channel, reportedly suggested that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik give a BJD ticket to an educated candidate for the Assembly seat. His suggestion has apparently hurt the sitting BJD MLA Ayub Khan.
Addressing reporters here on Tuesday evening, Khan observed that giving a piece of advice to Naveen Patnaik as to who should be given a ticket is “ridiculous”. “Naveen Patnaik has been successfully running the Government in Odisha for the last 19 years. Rate of development in an area can be measured through works. During my tenure as an MLA, a lot of developmental works have been undertaken,” said Khan.
Reacting to Saluja’s statement, Khan alleged that he (Saluja) has obtained a B Com certificate in the manner of Munna Bhai MBBS film.
“I have done B Com genuinely. A lot of developmental works had been undertaken in Kantabanji Assembly constituency,” said Saluja, when contacted for a comment.
