Missing Orissa legislator back, withdraws resignation

Bhubaneswar, July 4 : An Orissa legislator, missing for the last two weeks after resigning from the assembly, Saturday re-appeared and withdrew his resignation, saying that he had been forced to step down.

Ramesh Rout, an independent legislator from Athgarh constituency in Cuttack district, had gone missing after submitting his resignation letter to assembly Speaker Pradip Amat June 20.

'Some people had pressurised me to resign,' Rout told reporters after meeting Amat and explaining to him the situation under which he stepped down.

Rout, 39, was elected with the support of the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in the 2009 elections.

The BJD supported him after the nomination papers of its official candidate Ranendra Pratap Swain was rejected by poll officials.

Swain is a former state minister and a four-time legislator. Although Rout had the support of the BJD, he did not take part in any proceedings in the house.

On June 20 Rout told reporters that he was stepping down to pave the way for Swain's election.

Rout's disappearance came to light when media personnel tried to contact him after he resigned.

This led the speaker to issue a notice to Rout last week asking him to appear in person before July 6 and explain whether he had submitted his resignation voluntarily or under pressure.

Bhaskar Rout, the legislator's father, Thursday filed a complaint with the police that his son was missing.

Rout, who had a two-hour meeting with the speaker Saturday, said that he was very much present in his constituency and had not gone anywhere.

Amat said that he had heard Rout's version of events and and would examine the incident.