Odisha Lok Sabha MP Baijayant Jay Panda quits BJD

BHUBANESWAR:  Baijayant Jay Panda on Monday quit Odisha's ruling party Biju Janta Dal (BJD). In a letter written to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, he said that he will formally convey his decision to the Lok Sabha Speaker.

Expressing anguish, Jay Panda said that the ruling party in Odisha has descended. "It's with deep anguish, hurt and sorrow that I have decided to quit the politics into which our BJD has descended," Baijayant Jay Panda told news agency ANI.

In January, Kendrapara MP Baijayant Jay Panda was suspended from the primary membership of the BJD with immediate effect on grounds of 'anti-party activities'.

Earlier, in 2017, he had been removed as the party's parliamentary party spokesperson after he had written an article criticising the BJD leadership after the rural body polls.

As per DNA, 'monopolistic utilisation' of MPLAD funds is another charge against the Kendrapara MP. He had faced protests from BJD workers in May 2017 in Kendrapara.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had asked party observers to probe complaints against Panda. On the other hand, the Kendrapara MP had blamed an officer in CM's office for the campaign against him.