Reputed IAS officer joins BJP

In his Facebook page, former Raipur district collector O P Choudhary announced that he is joining the BJP, quoting a few lines by Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

"Whatever meets you on the path of duty; this is correct, that is also correct; I will not ask for a boon; whatever happens I will not give up," he wrote on both Twitter and Facebook.

He said he took primary membership of the party keeping these words in mind, as he formally joined the BP in New Delhi on Tuesday in the presence of party president Amit Shah.

He tweeted a photo of himself with Shah and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Dr Raman Singh announcing his decision.

In addition, the former bureaucrat released a video on the online platforms, in which he says, "I served the people of Chhattisgarh for 13 long years as district collector in various districts. I helped them, but now I was supposed to be deployed at the mantralaya, and from there I could not directly do what I wanted to what I want to do for the people of the state."

"I am very satisfied with my tenure in the IAS. But bureaucracy has its own limitations. I want to work more for my people and my soil. That is why I decided to leave the service," Choudhary says.

An officer of the 2005 batch, Choudhary had been assigned his home state as his cadre. He resigned from service last week.

He has an exemplary track record working in the capacity of district collector, and was given the Prime Minister's Award for Excellence in Public Administration for the year 2011-12 for his contribution to the development of Maoist-affected areas through education.

The news of his resignation began a flood of messages both in favour of and against his decision. Many welcomed his decision, but some said the move was suicidal.