Six-term Member of Parliament from Cuttack Bhartruhari Mahtab, former Berhampur MP and actor Sidhant Mohapatra, and noted Shantali writer Damayanti Beshra joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the party’s headquarters in Delhi on Thursday.
The veteran parliamentarian, recognized with the 'Sansad Ratna' award for four consecutive years from 2017 to 2020 for his commendable performance in Parliament debates, expressed his departure from the party due to feeling constrained in his scope of work within the BJD.
The BJP and the BJD previously shared an alliance for approximately 11 years between 1998 and 2009, contesting three Lok Sabha and two Assembly elections together. A few days after quitting the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), six-time MP Bhartruhari Mahtab came down heavily on the Naveen Patnaik-led government. Expressing displeasure over the party’s functioning, the senior politician asserted that the collapse of the party is inevitable. “BJD's pot of sin is full to its brim and may burst anytime soon,” the senior leader said in an editorial post.
Being associated with BJD for a long time, Mahtab revealed how the party was worker-friendly until Naveen Patnaik took over. He disclosed that a political affairs committee handled all the issues of the party during its initial days. However, all the power was handed over to two persons after 2004, he added. He also asserted that BJD had diverted from real issues for which the party was formed and is currently engaged only in corruption and injustice. “Like Sita Mata, our state has been surrounded by corruption, crime, and injustice. The time has come to take the step that Lord Ram took to save Sita Mata (Odisha),” read his post.