Rourkela/Bhubaneswar: Two days after BJP suspended Prakash Paswan, one of its cadre in Rourkela, after it emerged that he had booked rooms at the Circuit House for seven men who were subsequently arrested with arms and ammunition by police last week, Union minister Jual Oram on Saturday asserted that Paswan is one of his active party workers and his representative in Rourkela Municipal Corporation.“If there are any allegations against him regarding the Circuit House incident, they should be examined through a fair and transparent inquiry. If he is found guilty, he should be punished according to the law—I have no objection to that. The law must apply equally to everyone,” Jual wrote in a social media post.Stating that he has been in electoral politics for the past 35 years, he said he has always had the support and blessings of people from every faith and community. “Odias, people from other states, tribal communities, Bengalis, Biharis, or Marwaris—all are equal in my eyes. I was elected to serve everyone, and it is my duty to work for the welfare of the people,” he said.“If any individual or organization is deliberately carrying out a smear campaign against me, I will take appropriate legal action,” he said, adding, “There will always be political rivalry, and criticism is natural in public life. But lies, malicious propaganda, and conspiracies will not be tolerated.”In another post, the Union minister wrote that Khusbu Yadav is his district representative. “She has been working with me for a long time and is assisting me in my public and constituency-related work. In this role, she attends official meetings and programmes related to my work,” he wrote.Jual also wrote that had expressed my intention to appoint her as his additional private secretary (addl. PS), but due to certain reasons, that appointment could not be implemented. “This does not in any way affect her current role as district representative,” he wrote.
