Bhubaneswar, Sept. 10 -- Former Union Minister and Congress leader Srikant Kumar Jena hit out at the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) over its decision to abstain from voting in the Vice Presidential election, accusing the Naveen Patnaik-led regional party of working in "tandem with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)".

Jena argued that the BJD helped NDA candidate CP Radhakrishnan in securing victory for the post of Vice President by not participating in the voting process.

"NDA had more numbers over the INDIA bloc. There must be a contest in a democracy. It was an ideological fight. Therefore, the INDIA bloc voted unitedly. From the beginning, everyone knew that NDA had numbers. However, the BJD in the process has been exposed. By not participating...