Bhubaneswar: Rourkela BJP legislator Dilip Ray today resigned as MLA and announced about quitting the party. Ray submitted his resignation letter to the Odisha Legislative Assembly Speaker PK Amat after meeting the latter.

"It is with deep anguish that I have decided to quit as the Member of State Legislative Assembly as well as from the Membership of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)," Ray said.

"The decision to quit is emotionally too painful and difficult for me but I do think that this, at present, is best suited to the interests of Rourkela. I hope my constituents will understand the unavoidable circumstances that rendered it necessary for me to take this difficult decision," he said.

Ray has also decided not to contest the upcoming assembly elections in 2019 from Rourkela.

"Brahmani Bridge and the upgradation of Ispat General Hospital (IGH) to a Medical College cum Super Speciality Hospital were the two most burning issues concerning the region. These were also the two emotive issue based on which I had contested the 2014 elections. However, the relentless efforts and the intense follow-ups on my part have not been able to produce the desired results,” said Ray.

"Being the public representative of the region, more than anything else, I consider it as my personal failure and inability to deliver on commitments and hold myself solely responsible for it. 'Maati Aage Party Pare' has been the dictum guiding my political career and my conscience will never allow me to seek a re-election from the people of Rourkela until unless I have an answer to their questions," he added.

Speculations were earlier rife about Ray quitting the MLA post and the BJP as he had expressed displeasure over the alleged negligence by the Centre towards construction of second bridge on the Brahmani River and upgradation of Ispat General Hospital (IGH) into a Super Specialty Hospital in Rourkela.

Ray had said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Rourkela in 2015 had announced a second bridge over the Brahmani River to improve road connectivity and upgradation of the IGH.

Even four years after his announcement, the projects are yet to be executed in Rourkela, said Ray. He had claimed that some influential forces in the BJP are sabotaging the project.