Patnaik calls BJP 'empty vessel', Pradhan hits back

Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan Thursday hit back at Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for comparing the BJP with an "empty vessel" that makes noise and termed the ruling Biju Janata Dal as a "broken vessel."

Pradhan's reaction came two days after Patnaik said on Tuesday that the BJP reminds him of the proverb "empty vessels make the most noise".

Flagging off BJD's 'Jana Sampark Padayatra' here on Tuesday, the chief minister had said, "In its poll manifesto, the BJP had promised to accord Special Category status to Odisha, but nothing has been done so far.

As we know, empty vessels make the most noise." The Petroleum and Natural Gas minister told reporters here that "Naveen Patnaik should realise that his BJD resembles a broken vessel." Pradhan alleged large-scale irregularities in Odisha's own food security scheme as its beneficiaries include ruling BJD leaders and workers, while common people have been ignored.

Asking Patnaik to adopt transparency in the implementation of the state's own food security scheme, Pradhan demanded that the names of its beneficiaries are made public.