Ahead of the general elections, the ruling BJD in Odisha today constituted an ex-servicemen cell of the party and ensured joining of about 1,000 retired defence personnel.
"Many ex-servicemen have joined the Biju Janata Dal today. They will strengthen our party," said BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
Hailing the BJD president's approval to constitute the BJD ex-servicemen cell, retired Lt Gen Narayan Mohanty thanked the Chief Minister and said the services of ex-servicemen could be used during natural calamities, implementation of welfare schemes of the government at the village level and other events.
A delegation comprising Lt Gen (retd) Mohanty and Brigadier (retd) B P Patnaik had earlier submitted a proposal to Naveen requesting him to set up such a cell in the BJD.
They said there were more than 1.5 lakh ex-servicemen in the state and nearly 10 lakh people were dependent on them.
