BHUBANESWAR: Just a few months ahead of the elections, the Congress in Odisha seems to be in disarray.A day after Naba Kishore Das quit the party, the Congress seemed headed for fresh turmoil after it suspended Sundargarh MLA Jogesh Singh for alleged anti-party remarks. Jogesh reportedly faced the music for praising chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday, sources said.He also invited wrath of the state leadership for his refusal to attend Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s scheduled public meeting here on January 25.“We noticed that Jogesh had been issuing anti-party remarks. Taking approval from the All India Congress Committee (AICC), we have suspended him,” Congress disciplinary committee convener Ananta Sethy said.When contacted, Jogesh sounded defiant. “I did not indulge in anti-party activity nor issued statements against the party. Praising the chief minister should not be viewed as indiscipline or anti-party remark. He has been ruling Odisha for the last 19 years because of his able leadership. There is no harm in hailing his leadership,” Jogesh said.It must be noted that the Sundargarh MLA is not the only one to praise Naveen government. Recently Congress’s Salipur MLA, Prakash Behera, too had done the same.Asked why he won’t attend Rahul’s meeting on January 25, Jogesh said, “I had already finalized public meetings in my constituency much before Rahul’s itinerary was finalized. Besides, I have to attend to my close friend’s wedding on January 25. If my refusal to attend Rahul’s meeting enraged the party, I have nothing to say.”Sources said Jogesh is likely to tender his resignation from the party’s primary membership in the next few days.“I will also resign from the MLA post very soon. Since the party has suspended me, I do not want to hold any post,” he said. Asked whether he would join BJD, the Sundargarh MLA said he would take a final call in the next few days.Jogesh is the third MLA to have fallen foul of the Congress in the past three months. In October, Krishna Chandra Sagaria quit as MLA and has since been criticising the Congress state leadership. Sagaria, who is still with Congress, is likely to quit the party over reported differences with state president Niranjan Patnaik, sources said. His dissent was followed by Naba Kishore’s resignation on Wednesday.Some leaders said Niranjan should try to keep his flock together. “Though dissidents should be dealt with an iron hand, Niranjan should take party workers into confidence and convince them to remain united ahead of the elections. By taking disciplinary actions, he is losing key leaders from the party. He should have taken steps to convince Naba Kishore and Jogesh,” a Congress leader said.

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