Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president and Leader of the Opposition in the Odisha Assembly, Naveen Patnaik, on Tuesday demanded the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, saying he should take responsibility for the violence against students protesting in the national capital.
Former IAS officer Sujata Rout Karthikeyan on Thursday joined the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), providing a boost to the regional party as it seeks revival path after its electoral setback in 2024.
Former IAS officer Sujata Rout Karthikeyan has joined the Biju Janata Dal in Bhubaneswar. Her induction comes over a year after the party lost power in Odisha and months after she took voluntary retirement from the civil services.
Leader of the Opposition and BJD president Naveen Patnaik on Saturday launched a scathing attack on the BJP-led Odisha government over the alleged mob assault on two fellowship workers in Rayagada district, saying the “heinous and barbaric” incident had brought shame to the state and raised serious questions about law and order.
Leader of Opposition and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president Naveen Patnaik on Sunday launched a blistering attack on the BJP government in Odisha over the alleged manhandling and arrest of Tikiri Gram Panchayat Sarpanch Chameli Ojha, accusing it of employing "repressive tactics" to silence elected representatives who raise public issues.
The IAS officers R Balakrishnan and Suresh Chandra Mahapatra, who enjoyed unbridled power in important posts in the Naveen Patnaik government resigned after BJD lost the polls.
Patnaik claimed that his government reduced the poverty in the state from 70 per cent to 10 per cent.
BJD, the party which he headed, lost to the BJP in both the Assembly and Lok Sabha polls. Patnaik, who never eyed on pan-India expansion of the party, failed to check the BJP’s electoral juggernaut.
The political landscape of Odisha today sees Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik standing at a crossroads, seeking to extend his already impressive tenure of over 24 years.
Mr V K Pandian, bureaucrat turned BJD leader and close confidant of Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, on Thursday claimed that the Lok Sabha and the Assembly elections in the state are one-sided and the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) will be a clear winner. In an interview with The Statesman, he said he considers Mr Patnaik as his "Guru" while responding to questions on a range of issues.
