Jagatsinghpur BJD leaders on Monday met BJD supremo and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik here and sought Paradip MLA and former Minister Damodar Rout’s expulsion from the party.
A group of leaders led by Jagatsinghpur BJD district president Bishnu Das and Balikuda-Erasama MLA Prashant Muduli met Patnaik at the Naveen Niwas and submitted a memorandum to him demanding Rout’s removal because of anti-party activities by him.
Bishnu Das alleged that Rout has supported Bapu Parida, a close associate of arrested gangster Sayed Usman Ali alias Tito.
Rout has been continuously making statements against the party chief, other party leaders and Dalits. His statements are giving a bad name to the party in Jagatsinghpur district. So, he should be removed from the BJD, said Das.
Notably, the Chief Minister had on December 22, 2017 removed Rout from his Cabinet over his several controversial remarks, including those against the Brahmin community.