Bhubaneswar: Senior BJP leader and Rourkela MLA Dilip Ray today resigned from his post as MLA. He met Odisha Assembly Speaker Pradip Amat and submitted the resignation letter. Soon after, Ray along with senior leader Bijoy Mohapatra, in a joint letter to party president Amit Shah, tendered their resignation from primary membership of the BJP.
Ray also made his intentions clear of not contesting from Rourkela in the letter he posted on his social media handle in twitter. "It is with deep anguish that I have also decided not to contest the upcoming Assembly elections in 2019 from Rourkela," he mentioned in the letter.
While Ray informed about his resignation from the party on Twitter and later submitted the resignation letter to the Speaker, Mohapatra called a press conference to declare his decision.
In a three-page resignation letter, Ray mentioned, "Riding on the charismatic presence of Narendra Modi and the progressive change of the BJP had promised, I had envisioned a whole lot of development works for the city and had promised to fulfil the long ignored dream and aspirations of the people who had reposed their faith in me. I did put up the best of my efforts to the best of my ability and left no stone unturned on my part to materialise the dreams and aspirations of my constituents but at this stage, I acknowledge my failure in living up to their expectations and therefore, taking up the moral responsibility, I have decided to quit as the member of the State Legislative Assembly as well as from the membership of BJP."
Bijoy Mohapatra resigned from the party citing negligence by party national leaders, through a letter at a press conference here. The resignation letter has been issued to BJP National president Amit Shah & signed by both Dilip Ray and Bijoy Mohapatra.
Bijoy termed that both of them felt neglected by the party. "We regret to state that despite repeated efforts in appraising you on the sorry state of affairs in the party here , neither you nor any senior central party leader bothered to consult, review or take corrective measures. Be it the Mahanadi water issue, or the unfulfilled promises of a second hedge over river Brahmani ; the super speciality hospital at Rourkela or the dreams of lakhs of jobs for Odia youth which we sold at Paradip during the inauguration of the Oil Refinery - nothing , absolutely nothing materialized," the letter mentioned.
Meanwhile, BJP State chief president Basant Panda in his reaction said, "If branch of a tree falls, new branches will germinate from the damaged portion and that is nature. Only dreams cannot lead to anything. Apart from this, PM Narendra Modi is committed to development."
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Panda added, "BJP will not be affected if anyone quits the party. The decision to quit party is his personal view and BJP will not interfere into it."
BJP spokesperson Golak Mohapatra commented, "Were they present in the party that they tendered a resignation? Both Dilip Ray & Bijoy Mohapatra had been staying away from party affairs for quite some time now. BJP is a huge party and no one has ever been ignored. Their resignation will have no effect on the party."
BJP State vice-president Samir Mohanty said, "Forming a coterie is in the DNA of Bijoy Mohapatra. He tried to create groupism in BJP but failed. Dilip Ray's resignation is also over personal interest, and IGH & Brahmani issues are just reasons for namesake."
Meanwhile, BJD leader Pratap Jena called BJP a 'Jumla Sarkar' and said, "From their resignation, it is clear that BJP government is a 'jumla sarkar'. Be it Dilip Ray or Bijoy Mohaptra, whoever wants to join BJD, the decision will be taken by the party president Naveen Patnaik."