Bhubaneswar: Biju Janata Dal president and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday canceled the expulsion order of veteran leader and former minister Damodar Raut. An office order signed by Patnaik said that the removal order of Damodar Raut is canceled with immediate effect. Raut is a seven-time MLA. Raut was expelled from the regional organization on September 12, 2018, after being accused of anti-party activities. He was denied the party ticket and his son Sambit Routray contested from Paradip and won the seat in 2019. “My father is seriously ill and admitted in the hospital. This eviction withdrawal order will help him recover,” Paradip MLA Sambit Routray told reporters. Routray, on behalf of his father and family, thanked the Chief Minister for rescinding the eviction order on New Year’s Day. He said, ‘My father had left BJP after some time and wanted to return to his parent party.’ Raut was a minister in the Naveen Patnaik cabinet four times from 2000 to 20018. He became MLA for the first time in 1977.
Bhubaneswar: BJD cancels Damodar Raut’s expulsion order
