Bhubaneswar: Senior BJD leader Damodar Rout on Wednesday made a veiled attack on party's young turk and Jajpur MLA Pranab Prakash Das aka Bobby saying that he understood business better than politics.

Rout, who is quite upset with party young turks, feels that they had played a major role for his ouster from the ministry.

Rout feels the young turks are playing a leading role in the party structure and on their advice the BJD leadership is sidelining those who worked with Biju Babu.

He, and several other senior leaders, believes that the young turks are creating disturbances in the party structure and ignoring those who helped build the BJD.

Rout said: "Those who don't even know who Biju babu is are now spokespersons for the party. I am no more needed in the party."

He suspects Das, who has developed a close proximity to the chief minister, was responsible for him losing favour of chief minister Naveen Patnaik. However, Das refrained from making any comments on Rout's allegations. Incidentally, Rout was a close friend of Das's father Ashok Das.

Ridiculing Das, the party veteran said: "He is now in the forefront of the party. The only power centre in the BJD is Naveen Patnaik. Bobby has not reached the doorsteps of the power corridor, but is behaving like a child. He is more interested in business and less in politics."

On the issue of Kendrapara MP Baijayant Panda's removal from the party, Rout said: "The party suspended Panda and later he resigned from the party. But he has not spoken against the party and the leader of the party. He has only spoken against a senior official. Some materials are needed to take action."

The BJD is yet to react to Panda's letter to Naveen in which he had said why he resigned from the party.

In his letter to Naveen he had said: "It is with deep anguish, hurt and sorrow that I have decided to quit the kind of politics into which our BJD has descended."

Sources said: "The party is closely watching the move of Panda. As the rituals of Bansidhar Panda are yet to be over, the party is not making any comments."

Incidentally, a meeting was held in Delhi where speakers spoke about the contribution of Bansidhar Panda to Odisha.

Senior Congress MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati said: "Baijayant Panda did a manly job. Now his resignation has acted as a boomerang for the BJD." On the other hand, BJD spokesperson Amar Prasad Satpathy said: "The Congress should first set its house in order instead of meddling with the affairs of other parties."