Former Minister Panchanan Kanungo Joins Congress

Bhubaneswar: Former Minister of Odisha Panchanan Kanungo joined the Congress in the presence of AICC president Rahul Gandhi at the ‘Parivartan Sankalpa Samabesha’ here on Friday.

With this, Kanungo, who was minister of state for finance in the BJD-BJP alliance government from August 2002 to May 2004, is now back to active politics after a long gap.

A three-time lawmaker from Gobindapur (1977, 1995 and 2000), he had resigned from the regional party on April 30, 2008, expressing displeasure at the manner in which it was functioning under the leadership of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

He unsuccessfully contested from Bhubaneswar central assembly constituency in 2009 as a candidate of Samruddha Odisha. He left the party after a brief stint and then went into hibernation.

His joining Congress is being perceived as a major boost to the beleaguered state unit of the party, which has seen senior leaders bidding it goodbye in the last few days.

However, it has come as a big disappointment for a group of expelled BJD leaders, including Damodar Rout, as it was being speculated that he would join a new party floated by them.

Stating that the invitation had come from the Congress, Panchanan said he was in the grand old party when there was a change in the political scenario.

“When there was a big change in the national politics in 1969, most of the prominent leaders of Odisha left the Congress and joined the Utkal Congress. Some young leaders like Rabi Das, Pradyumna Bal and me remained in the Congress. Now, the time has come for a political change in Odisha and the country as well. I had started my political career in Congress and also want to end my political career in Congress,” he added.

To a question on which constituency he would prefer if his party gives the ticket to him to contest either the Assembly or the Lok Sabha polls, Panchanan said his constituency was Govindpur. However, it has now been changed to Niali, which is a reserved constituency.

Th former minister said he has two constituencies. “My first constituency is the print media. I actively respond to the print media whenever it needs me and vice-versa. I have been in this constituency for the last 15 years. My second constituency is a pool of intellectuals with whom I have been working till date. They have given me a platform to remain in touch with the people and helped me in creating a forum for debates and discussions,” he pointed out.

The veteran leader said he will abide by the decision of the party on such matters. “As a disciplined party worker, I will never cross the line of control. I will accept whatever responsibility the party will assign to me. If my party decides to make me a candidate to contest the elections, I will do,” he added.