‘Deeply hurt’ Damodar quits BJP, says he is no longer required in the party
BHUBANESWAR: Days after announcing his decision to quit electoral politics, senior BJP leader Damodar Rout resigned from the primary membership of the saffron party on Wednesday.
Sending his resignation letter to BJP’s State unit president Basanta Panda, Rout said he decided to quit as his presence is no longer required in the party.
Expressing anguish for not being involved in party affairs, Rout said, “It is very painful to realise that I am no longer required in party programmes and decision-making process. I am deeply hurt as none of the BJP leaders are in touch with me after the general elections.”
“After being an MLA in the State Assembly for 35 years and serving as minister in the State Cabinet six times, my redundancy in the party is forcing me to retire from active politics,” he said.
On his future plan, Rout said, as a devoted follower of Biju Patnaik he will dedicate the rest of his life for the interest of the State and its people.
Rout was the second leader after Ashok Panigrahi to quit the saffron party ahead of Bijepur by-poll.
The veteran leader felt ignored as his name did not figure in the 40-member star campaigners list which contains the names of several party leaders, who never contested any election.
Rout, however, said he has no animosity against the party and its leadership.
The senior leader who unsuccessfully contested the 2019 polls from Balikuda-Erasama Assembly on a BJP ticket after his removal from the ruling BJD was inducted into the party while he was campaigning against corruption in the BJD government.
After he joined BJP in New Delhi in the presence of party president Amit Shah, he was made the convenor of party’s campaign committee before the last elections.
Responding to Rout’s allegation that he was ignored in the BJP, State president of the party said, “Everyone is equal in our party, nobody was ignored. Everybody, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is a party worker first then a leader.”
Welcoming the decision of his father, Sambit Rout said it was a wrong decision by his father to join BJP.
“I had tried to stop him from joining BJP but he didn’t listen to me. I was sure that he wouldn’t cope there simply because his true ideologue is Biju Patnaik. There is vast difference in the ideology of Biju Babu and BJP,” he added.