BHUBANESWAR: Last month’s public spat between former minister Damodar Rout and senior minister Surya Narayan Patro was re-enacted in the Assembly on Saturday. While Rout maintained that he tendered his resignation on May 8 as per the wishes of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Patro said Rout was asked to resign for his remarks against the Scheduled Caste community. Rout made a statement in the House on the circumstances which led to his resignation following a demand from Opposition Chief Whip Prasad Harichandan. But he did not touch any controversial issues in his statement. Patro made a statement on the issue soon after Rout’s statement, despite protests from the Opposition bench. However, no further discussion on the topic was allowed by the Speaker after Patro’s statement. Rout said inclusion in and resignation from the ministry is the prerogative of the Chief Minister. The former minister said the Chief Minister may have asked him to resign to induct more efficient colleagues and he abided by the direction immediately. In an emotional speech, Rout said that nobody had raised a finger on his honesty, efficiency and loyalty in his 40 years of public life during which he worked under three chief ministers, Nilamani Routray, Biju Patnaik and Naveen Patnaik. Rout said he never wanted to follow somebody at the cost of his self-respect and always believed in frankness. Stating that he has learnt many things from late Biju Patnaik whom he followed loyally, Rout said that he (Biju) had asked him to desist from acquiring property while in office and serving the people. Patro, however, said that Rout had lost the confidence of the Chief Minister after he made some remarks against Dalits. The National Commission for Scheduled Caste had taken cognisance of Rout’s remarks and the Centre had given some suggestions to the Chief Minister on the issue, he said. “He (Rout) should have resigned on his own after securing bail from the Orissa High Court. But did not do so. Therefore, he was asked to quit by the Chief Minister on May 8,” Patro said. However, Rout told mediapersons outside the Assembly that the Chief Minister should have placed his opinion in the House on his statement. Patro should not have done that, he said, adding that there should also not have been any discussion on his statement.
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