IN VIDEO: Shoes hurled at Odisha’s CM Naveen Patnaik during Bijepur bypoll campaign

NEW DELHI: An unidentified youth on Tuesday hurled two shoes at Odisha's Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik during his campaign for the by-poll in Bijepur assembly constituency of Bargarh district. The man was later detained at the local police station. The person who hurled two shoes in quick succession was reportedly seated in the front row. Patnaik was campaigning in Kumbhari under Barpali block when he was attacked. In the video, one can see that one of the personal security officers (PSOs) blocked the shoes targeted at the Chief Minister. Soon after, the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) supremo was taken away from the spot. Soon after, the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) supremo was taken away from the spot. Bargarh BJD MLA Debesh Acharya said,“The person who hurled shoes is a BJP worker. This is the handiwork of opposition BJP, which is doing all this apprehending defeat in the by-poll,”. However, the BJP refuted the allegation. BJP president Basant Panda also commented on the incident and said “I condemn the attack on the chief minister. This is not an act of the BJP. The youth is yet to be identified and the investigation into the matter is yet to be started. But the ruling party has started blaming us. It shows their desperation due to imminent defeat in the by-poll,”.