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BJP disrespected Barsha, says Naveen
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said he personally went down to Padampur to campaign for his party candidate Barsha Singh Bariha ahead of the bypoll
Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said he personally went down to Padampur to campaign for his party candidate Barsha Singh Bariha ahead of the bypoll, as he was hurt by the ''disrespect'' shown by the BJP towards the rookie nominee.
Naveen's comments on Thursday came shortly after Basrha scored an emphatic win against BJP's Pradip Purohit by 42,679 votes.
''People often ask me why I preferred to campaign in Padampur while refraining from doing so in the panchayat election and other bypolls. I was really hurt over the manner in which the State BJP leadership offended a young, educated and grief-stricken girl like Barsha, who recently lost her father,'' the Chief Minister said in a video message.
Barsha polled a total of 1,20,807 votes, while Pradip Purohit secured 78,128 votes, the Election Commission said.
''BJP's treatment towards her was disrespect to all women. So, I went and stood by Barsha like a father, a brother and a friend,'' Naveen said. The people of Odisha have never tolerated insult to women, nor will they ever do so, he added.
During the election campaign, former Union minister and Sundargarh MP Jual Oram had courted controversy by questioning Barsha's tribal status following her marriage to a non-tribal man.
Meanwhile, Barsha's father-in-law and senior BJP leader Rama Ranjan Baliarsingh echoed Naveen's statement, saying he and his family members were pained when a few BJP leaders launched a personal attack on her.
