One for the Cong; SJP man defects

BHUBANESWAR, January 3: The Congress in the state got a shot in its arm with the Samajwadi Janata Party (SJP) leader and former union minist...

BHUBANESWAR, January 3: The Congress in the state got a shot in its arm with the Samajwadi Janata Party (SJP) leader and former union minister Bhakta Charan Das today formally joining the Congress. He stated that the Congress was the only "viable, secular and centrist" alternative which can deliver goods to the people.

Announcing his decision at a news conference here Das admitted that ideological considerations no longer hold good as politics minus Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party has disintegrated. Das said that he took the decision to join Congress after all his efforts to strengthen an alternative political party failed. "Janata Dal leaders are still not in talking terms with each other, though the dates of the elections have been announced," he remarked.

The former Union minister said that he had to join Congress when it became clear that he cannot deliver the goods to the people through the other secular alternatives. Das said that his decision was based on the demands of the people of the constituency.

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Describing the Congress as a party of tradition and heritage, Das said that there was a stable government of Congress in Orissa and that the voice of Kalahandi would be better heard after he joined the Congress. He would be able to "influence administrative decisions and address Kalahandi’s problems promptly."

The former union minister said that he had taken the blessings of his mentor and former prime minister Chandra Sekhar before joining Congress. Asked whether Chandrasekhar approved of his decision, Das quipped, "He did not disapprove." He asserted that Chandrasekhar was his permanent leader.Das informed that he also had a series of discussions with the Chief Minister J B Patnaik and Deputy Chief Minister Basant Kumar Biswal before joining the Congress.

The former union minister lashed out at the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) by describing it as the "B" team of the Congress. Alleging that it has ended up as a pawn in the hands of the BJP, Das said that the newly formed party has failed to live up to its claim of being a regional outfit. Stating that BJP was an "unprincipled" party, he said that BJP was born out of a communal issue. It was not concerned with the problems faced by the common people.