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After expelling six of its legislatures on Friday for supporting expelled Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader Dilip Ray, the Orissa unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party is now pressurising its ruling coalition partner to take action against 14 legislatures on similar charges.
The BJD has 74 members, including six associate members, and its alliance partner, the BJP, has 41 members, including three associates, in the 147-member House.
Of the six expelled MLAs, two were associate members of the BJP legislature party.
Dilip Ray was elected to the Rajya Sabha as an independent with the support of six BJP legislatures and at least 14 BJD MLAs who defied the party line to ensure Ray's victory.
"We expelled all the errant MLAs. We now want Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to take similar action against his party MLAs," senior BJP leader Rudra Narayan Pani told rediff.com.
However, the BJD is reluctant to act against its MLAs fearing a split in the party.
Dilip Ray was a confidante of Biju Patnaik, the legendary Oriya leader and father of the present chief minister.
He was instrumental in splitting the Janata Dal to form the BJD and installing Naveen Patnaik as its leader.
In 1998, Ray was made minister of state for coal in Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's cabinet.
However, he was forced to resign in 2000 following differences with Naveen Patnaik. He was later expelled from the BJD.
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