Ink thrown at Odisha Congress chief Sarat Pattanayak

Bhubaneswar: Two masked persons on Friday morning threw ink at Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Sarat Pattanayak at the party's state headquarters here.

The incident took place around 11:30 am when the two unidentified persons entered Pattanayak's chambers and splashed blue ink on his clothes, before fleeing from the spot, a senior leader said.

"I am not scared by such incidents... those jealous of the Congress's growth in the state are behind it," Pattanayak later told reporters.

The Congress leader later participated in a demonstration against alleged irregularities in conduct of NEET-UG 2024 exam.

Congress spokesperson Biswaranjan Mohanty said an inquiry will be conducted and appropriate action will be taken. BJP spokesperson Dilip Mallik claimed that the incident was a fallout of an internal feud in the Congress.

"The ink attack was a reflection of anger among Congress workers against Pattanayak," he alleged.

Congress is pointing fingers at other parties in a bid to gain sympathy, he added.