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Patnaik revokes suspension of 5 BJD MLAs

Biju Janata Dal president and Union Steel and Mines Minister Naveen Patnaik today revoked the suspension of five party MLAs who were charged with anti-party activities during last fortnight's Rajya Sabha election.

The BJD had earlier asked the suspended MLAs -- Prabhat Tripathy, Surya Narayan Patra, Bijayashree Routray, Kalpataru Das and Bishahnu Charan Das -- to send Patnaik an unconditional apology.

The BJD leader told newsmen in New Delhi on Wednesday that he has received individual apologies from the legislators and subsequently revoked their suspensions.

In a letter to the party president, the five BJD MLAs expressed shock on being suspended from the party. They reiterated faith in Patnaik's leadership and commitment to the party. They requested him to revoke the suspensions. A communication gap, they said, had resulted in the misunderstanding.

Patnaik, however, maintained that the probe will continue into the indiscipline which had led to the defeat of the BJD candidate in the Rajya Sabha election. He said he was in favour of handing over the probe of alleged 'horse trading' to the Central Bureau of Investigation.

He charged that the Congress-led Orissa government was indulging in rampant corruption and predicted its fall any time, but said he would not press for its dismissal under Article 356.

UNI

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