Dilip Ray, Bijoy Mohapatra quit BJP; Dilip also quit MLA post

Bhubaneswar: Two national executive members of BJP Dilip Ray and Bijoy Mohapatra resigned from the party on Friday saying that they can no longer continue as showpieces in the party.

Ray, MLA from Rourkela assembly constituency, also resigned from the membership of Odisha Legislative Assembly. He met Speaker Pradip Amat and submitted his resignation letter.

“It is with deep anguish that I have decided to quit as the Member of State Legislative Assembly as well as from the Membership of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP),” tweeted Ray.

Both Ray and Mohapatra wrote a joint resignation letter addressed to BJP national president Amit Shah.

“They said the party never took a call and suggestion on major issues like the Mahanadi water dispute, unkept promise of a second bridge over river Brahmani, super-specialty hospital at Rourkela and lakhs of jobs to Odia youth as promised during the inauguration of the Oil Refinery at Paradip.

The two leaders mentioned in their letter that the list was “too long” and they would not like to burden the party chief.

“The well meaning suggestions by us to you were construed as a threat by certain egocentric self servicing individuals who resorted to dirty tricks and a campaign was launched in our respective constituencies to try and deride us,” they said in the letter.

“As self respecting politicians with decades of service to Odisha, we refuse to continue in the party as showpieces. We can’t be treated as furniture in the party while the rootless talk big and project a larger than life image. For us, the interest of the state is supreme. We have never ever compromised our self respect or the interest of the state for any post, power or ticket,” they said.

The two national executive members had distanced themselves from the party for the last two years now as their repeated efforts to draw the attention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other central BJP leaders towards several issues concerning the state and the unfulfilled promises made to people of Odisha had failed to evoke a response.

They have also pointed out how the party suffered a humiliating defeat in the Bijepur assembly bypoll and all by-elections at the panchayat level despite frequent visits and tours of Amit Shah.