Cong veteran Giridhar Gamang resigns, says he was humiliated

Giridhar Gamang, one of the country’s best known tribal leaders and a former chief minister of Odisha, resigned from the Congress on Saturday citing “humiliation” and “loss of self-respect”.

Speculation was rife that Gamang might join the BJP in view of his recent meeting with Union tribal affairs minister Jual Oram, who also belongs to Odisha.

“Since 1999, I have been humiliated in public for bringing down the (Atal Bihari) Vajpayee government (at the Centre) 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 my loyalty to the party has turned into a liability,” Gamang said in a letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

Gamang now claims that the Vajpayee government lost the confidence motion not because of his vote, but due to cross voting by Saifuddin Soz of the National Conference, who went against the whip of his party and voted against the motion.

On his part, Soz said Gamang had then sought to claim the credit for bringing down the Vajpayee government but there were doubts over his vote. “Back then, he had gone to town taking the credit. But now as he is joining the BJP, he wants to tell them that it was not him but me who was responsible for the fall of Vajpayee government,” Soz said. “The entire world had then rightly given me credit. As Gamang has now gone astray, his double standards too are exposed.”

Gamang clarified he had not taken ‘sanyas’ (retirement) from politics and he might consider offers to join any other party.

“He has been in touch with us socially but has not yet shown any intention to join the BJP,” said Suresh Pujari, BJP spokesperson.

Prasad Harichandan, president of the Odisha unit of the Congress, described Gamang’s resignation as unfortunate. “Clearly it is not his decision,” Harichandan said, hinting at the role of Gamang’s son Sishir Gamang.