Bhubaneswar, March 5: The Odisha Sahitya Akademi is in a spot for having jumped the gun.

Eminent Odisha litterateur Ramachandra Behera today resigned from the post of president of the Odisha Sahitya Akademi, almost three months before his tenure came to an end purportedly because the Akademi had been too hasty in selecting his successor. Behera said he did not want to continue working in the depressing environment of the Akademi. The state culture department has named Satakadi Hota as Behera’s successor.

A litterateur and academic of repute, Behera, a recipient of the Kendriya Sahitya Akademi Award (2005), Odisha Sahitya Akademi Award (2000) and many other honours, joined office at the Akademi in May 2010.

His term was initially fixed at two years. Later, the tenure for all such posts was extended to three years. “I would have completed three years in my office on May 31 this year. But the members of the Akademi and certain people associated with it as well as authorities at the culture department began the process of selecting the next president frantically, which was humiliating,” said the author.

The search committee had already recommended three names for the post of Akademi president a few months ago. The selection was made last month and the approval letter from the CM’s office was released a few days ago, said culture department authorities.

“I feel the entire process was conducted in haste, whereas it could have begun 15 days before my tenure ended. This indicates that some groups wanted me to leave early. Had I not resigned, some people might have alleged I did not want to leave the chair. But I have never sought publicity or attention. I simply want to concentrate on writing,” said Behera. “That my stories are taught from matric to post-graduation and my plays staged by leading theatre troupes of the state give me utmost satisfaction.”

Sushil Das, director, state department of culture, said Behera’s tenure was about to end and so the department did not wait to begin the selection. “We were only awaiting the nod from the chief minister’s office. The new president will join soon now that Behera has resigned,” he said.

However, members of the literature fraternity are in complete support of Behera. “Both Ramachandra Behera and Satakadi Hota are befitting gentlemen for the post and are good friends themselves. It is the manner of conduct of the department that deserves criticism. They should have waited until the working president’s tenure ended. There was no need to make him feel the pressure to leave early,” said author Pratibha Satpathy.

Renowned author Bibhuti Patnaik said the selection of the new president should have begun just before Behera’s tenure ended. “Naturally, anyone in his shoes would feel offended,” he said.