Buckling down under pressure from the public as well as from within his party, Kalapataru Das tendered his resignation as the leader of BJD Parliamentary Party in Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
Das submitted his resignation letter to party president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, obviously at the latter’s instance in view of the allegations against Das and his MlA-son Pranab Balabantray in connection with land grab and chit fund scam.
“I have been targeted by certain individuals for the last one and a half months. False and fabricated allegations are being made one after other systematically to tarnish my image. I don’t want the image of my leader Naveen Patnaik and the BJD to be tarnished,” Das stated in his letter to Patnaik. Patnaik accepted Das’ resignation and appointed George Tirkey as the new BJD RS leader.