Giridhar Gamang Former Odisha CM resigns from Congress

In a major political development, former Odisha Chief Minister and nine-time Lok Sabha member Giridhar Gamang resigned from Congress on Saturday. This move comes amidst speculations that he would join Bharatiya Janata Party.

Addressing a packed press conference, the veteran Congress leader blamed both Central and State Congress leadership for not defending him for his single vote against the confidence motion that caused the fall of the Vajpayee government in 1999.

“Since 1999, I have been humiliated in public for bringing down the Vajpayee government with a single vote of mine. Till today, neither my party nor my leaders have come out with the truth and protected me from public criticism. I feel that loyalty to the party has turned into a liability to the party,” mentioned Mr. Gamang in a letter addressed to Congress President Sonia Gandhi that was circulated among media persons.

The senior leader was the Chief Minister of Odisha then but had not resigned from the Lok Sabha seat of Koraput constituency. He was widely criticised for casting his vote against the confidence motion moved by then Prime Minister Mr. Vajpayee, which was defeated by 269 to 270 votes.

Clarifying the circumstances under which he was forced to vote in the Lok Sabha while holding the post of Chief Ministership, Mr. Gamang said, “I was asked by the Chief Whip of the Congress Party in Parliament to attend the house for participation in voting under anti-defection law which says without permission of party, a member should not abstain from attending the house.”

“I was a member of the Lok Sabha from Koraput Parliamentary constituency though I was the Chief Minister of Odisha and was not a member of Odisha Legislative Assembly, therefore party had every right under the law to direct me to attend and vote for the party. I attended and voted not as Chief Minister of State but as per constitutional right of a MP to vote,” he said in the three-page-long letter.

Mr. Gamang said, “I am resigning from Congress not (sic) rejoin the same party. If any party comes up with a proposal to take me in, I will consider joining that part.”

His son, Sisir Gamang, who is also a Congress leader, however, hinted that he and his father were likely to join BJP in a grand ceremony. Mr. Sisir Gamang, who unsuccessfully contested the 2009 Assembly election on a Congress ticket from Gunupur, has also resigned from the Congress on Saturday.

The Senior Gamang also said that his views had been consistently ignored by the Congress leadership in major decision making processes during past couple of years. The 72-year- old leader was first elected to the fifth Lok Sabha in 1972. Since then Mr. Gamang had been re-elected to the lower house of Parliament continuously till 1998 from the Koraput Lok Sabha seat.

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Source:The Hindu