As the 2024 election draws closer, a cyclonic storm is developing in the otherwise ‘calm’ and non-controversial political environment of Odisha politics. On 12th September, Khandapada MLA Soumya Ranjan Pattnaik was removed from the post of vice president of the ruling BJD.
#BREAKING_NEWS
— OTV (@otvnews) September 12, 2023
Biju Janata Dal (BJD) removes Soumya Ranjan Patnaik from the post of Vice-President with immediate effect
(File pic) pic.twitter.com/JLASJQNVY0
Khandapada MLA Soumya Ranjan Patnaik, who is a former MP and the owner of the media conglomerate Sambada Group, has recently been very vocal against the 5T Secretary VK Pandian and his role as the alleged ‘proxy CM’ in Odisha.
VK Pandian, a serving IAS officer, has long been regarded as CM Naveen Patnaik’s Man Friday. He has been CM Patnaik’s private secretary for over 12 years. Though his role in state politics has been mostly ‘behind the scenes’ all these years, in recent months, the IAS officer has been very visible. He even travels in helicopters and supervises numerous development and governance projects, openly declaring that he is doing it on the orders of the CM.
In June this year, several political leaders wrote a letter to the Union government’s Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) regarding the ‘controversial’ role of Pandian. The DoPT had issued a notice to the state government in this regard.
Of late, it has been seen that many elected MPs and MLAs, even powerful ministers of the ruling BJD have been ‘following orders’ from VK Pandian, and extending the same amount of reverence to him as they would to the CM himself. Pandian is being increasingly presented as a proxy CM before the people of the state, where he is greeted with flowers, rituals, and garlands, and his ‘tours’ are promoted by the state machinery through government channels.
Souma Patnaik’s media conglomerate is Odisha’s largest media company. With the newspaper Sambada, news channel Kanak TV, and numerous other entertainment and news platforms, the media house has a reach to almost every household in Odisha.
On 11th September, Soumya Patnaik stated that just because he was critical of the BJD government’s work, the BJD government stopped giving advertisements to his channels and newspapers.
Soumy Patnaik himself is the editor-in-chief of Sambada newspaper and recently, he penned a strong editorial against the Navin Patnaik government, especially raising questions on the issue of a serving IAS officer playing the role of a proxy CM in the state.
Kanak News has reported that the letter notifying Soumya Patnaik of his removal from the party VP post has been sudden and there was no ‘show cause’ notice served to him.
Speaking through his media channels, Soumya Patnaik had stated recently that ‘BJD is nobody’s paternal property’. He added that the party belongs to the people of Odisha and all party leaders and workers would decide how it should be run. “The government has stopped giving us advertisements because some people are upset with the valid criticisms I raised. But they should remember that a media house does not run on anyone’s government’s mercy. It is run by love and support from the readers”, he said.
‘#ଦଳ_କାହାର_ପୈତୃକ_ସମ୍ପତ୍ତି_ନୁହେଁ’
— Kanak News (@kanak_news) September 10, 2023
ଦୋହରାଇଲେ ସୌମ୍ୟରଞ୍ଜନ ପଟ୍ଟନାୟକ । କହିଲେ, ତାଙ୍କ କଥାକୁ ସମର୍ଥନ କରୁଛନ୍ତି ରାଜ୍ୟବାସୀ । ରାଗ ରଖି ସମ୍ବାଦକୁ ବିଜ୍ଞାପନ ବନ୍ଦ କରିଦେଇଛନ୍ତି ସରକାର, ଲୋଡ଼ା ପାଠକଙ୍କ ଆଶୀର୍ବାଦ । ଏପଟେ ସୌମ୍ୟଙ୍କୁ ଟାର୍ଗେଟ କଲେ ଅମର ପଟ୍ଟନାୟକ । #KanakNews #BJD #Odisha #SoumyaRanjanPatnaik pic.twitter.com/yLZqpn1QtM
In a strong editorial published in Sambada newspaper weeks ago, Soumya Patnaik had raised questions on the BJD government’s work in the state and had specifically targeted the issue that IAS officer VK Pandian has been ‘touring’ the state in a helicopter and spending hundreds of crores of tax payer’s money. He had also objected to the ‘unconstitutional’ practice of a serving IAS officer ‘ruling’ over elected public representatives.
After the said editorial, on numerous occasions, Soumya Patnaik has used various platforms to criticize the functioning of the Odisha government. He has also raised the issue of corrupt bureaucrats, lack of employment opportunities in the state, and government policies.
Soumya Patnaik was a Congress leader, and an elected MP for several years before joining the BJD in 2018. He was then nominated to the Rajya Sabha. In the 2019 assembly elections, he won as an MLA from Khandapada seat on a BJD ticket. He is married to Sudatta Patnaik, the daughter of deceased Congress leader and former Odisha CM Janaki Ballabh Patnaik. Soumya Patnaik’s brother Niranjan Patnaik was the Odisha Congress chief for several years till his removal in 2022.
