No One Has Reprimanded Me: Damodar Rout

BHUBANESWAR: Odisha Excise minister Damodar Rout on Wednesday rubbished the reports that he along with other colleagues were reprimanded by chief minister after the cabinet meeting on Tuesday for speaking against party leaders in media.

“Nobody has reprimanded Damodar Rout. It’s a plain lie and those, who are spreading the lies, are traitors and dishonest people,” Rout told media persons here.

Rout took strong exception to the statement of BJD spokesperson Sashibhusan Behera, who on Tuesday said that the ministers were taken to task after the cabinet meeting for spreading negativity against the party.

“How could he (Behera) know about what happened in the cabinet meeting? Is he a cabinet minister?” asked Rout.

Meanwhile, three spokespersons of ruling BJD-Pratap Dev, Pratap Jena and Sameer Dash met chief minister Naveen Patnaik after some senior leaders launched an attack on junior ministers, what they claimed that some had joined politics to accumulate property and money instead of serving the people.

The ruling party is facing opposition from within the party ever since CBI summoned minister Sanjay Dasburma for his alleged involvement in chit fund scam.

Notably, Rout along with several senior leaders of the party including Tathagat Satapathy, Nagendra Pradhan, Bhartruhari Mahatab, Baisnab Parida and Ladukishore Swain have already launched a veiled attack against food supplies and consumer welfare minister Sanjay Dasburma for his alleged involvement in the chit fund scam.