BHUBANESHWAR: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today removed senior leader Damodar Rout as the vice-president of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and district observer of the party, a day after he sacked him from the cabinet for his controversial remark against the Brahmin community.
Friday's dismissal from the cabinet was for the third time that Rout was removed by the chief minister from the ministry. Rout had launched the Biju Bichara Manch (BBM) in October, 2011 to act as a pressure group within the party after he was dropped from the ministry in May, 2011.
However, the BBM became defunct after Rout was re-inducted to the ministry again on August, 2012. The senior leader has, however, not announced his future plans after he was dropped from the ministry again on Friday. Political observers maintained that Rout would not be able garner any sympathy this time because of his remarks on farmers' suicide, anganwadi workers, a senior BJP leader and against the Brahmins.
As many as 44 ministers were either removed or dropped from the ministry during the 17 year tenure of Naveen Patnaik as the chief minister. Besides Rout, Debi Prasad Mishra, Bijoyshree Routray, Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak, Pradip Maharathi, Pushpendra Singhdeo, Prafulla Samal, Pratap Jena and Rabi Narayan Nanda could make a comeback after they were dropped. While Mishra, Singhdeo and Nayak are again out of the ministry now, Nanda was defeated in the 2014 assembly elections.