Chhuria pooh poohs Majhi's 'outsider' remark

Says Jay Dholakia’s family hails from Gujarat’s Surat district and settled in Nuapada for business

- PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

BJD’s Nuapada candidate Snehangini Chhuria Friday dismissed Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi’s claim that she is an “outsider”, saying she belongs to western Odisha and has strong family roots in the district.

Reacting to Majhi’s remarks at a public meeting in Nuapada Thursday, Chhuria said, “I feel pity over the CM’s comments. How come I am an outsider? My mother was born under Komna block in Nuapada district, and I was born in Padampur, just 57 km away. Nuapada is my mother’s birthplace, and I have relatives across the district.”

Majhi had called Chhuria an “outsider” and claimed that the BJD imported her from Attabira in Baragarh district.

Chhuria, a former minister and two-time MLA from Attabira in neighbouring Bargarh district, countered the CM’s comments by questioning the origins of the BJP candidate.

Nuapada bypoll is scheduled November 11 and counting will take place November 14.