The manner in which he has begun taking on the Narendra Modi Government at the Centre in the public, Rourkela BJP MlA Dilip Ray appears to be mulling to quit the saffron party.
The alternative party for him looks to be none other than the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), from which he was eased out by party supremo Naveen Patnaik more than a decade ago.
On Sunday, Ray said that despite three years of the BJP rule at the Centre and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s repeated promises, the Ispat General Hospital (IGH) in Rourkela could not be upgraded to a super-specialty health centre.
Besides, a second bridge over Brahmani river has not materialized, he said.
Ray said he has met the Prime Minister at least five times and the concerned Ministers 10 to 15 times on these issues. He has also written a number of letters regarding the matter to them, but all in vain. He feels sad and humiliated, he added.
In a response to Ray’s statement, BJP State vice-president Samir Mohanty said, “As he is the Rourkela MlA, it is natural that he would feel bad. But it would be better if he had discussed the issues in the party forum instead of going to the media.”