Bhubaneswar, Sept 12 (PTI) Ruling BJD vice-president Soumya Ranjan Patnaik was removed from his post on Tuesday, months before the simultaneous Assembly and Lok Sabha polls in Odisha for allegedly writing critical editorials in his Odia daily.
The party has, however, not cited any reason for removing him from the party post.
"Shri Soumya Ranjan Patnaik, vice-president, Biju Janata Dal, is hereby removed from the post of vice-president with immediate effect," a party release signed by BJD president Naveen Patnaik said.
The action against the party vice-president came after senior leaders including some ministers accused him of "blackmailing" the party by writing critical editorials in his Odia daily 'Sambad', considered to have the largest circulation in the state, and giving statements in television channels.
He had recently criticised the manner in which the state government functions and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s private secretary V K Pandian’s whirlwind tour of the state with money from the public exchequer.
The lawmaker from Khandapada assembly seat in Nayagarh district in his editorial piece drew a parallel between the expenditure made towards Pandian's air travel within the state with the amount spent in India’s Chandrayan-3. He said the cost of Pandian’s tour could be equal to expenditure for Chandrayan-3.
Soumya Ranjan Patnaik rejected the allegation that he was "blackmailing" the party and claimed that he gave some suggestions for the advancement of BJD, which according to him is most popular in the state under leadership of Naveen Patnaik.
The state holds simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly polls. Odisha has 21 Lok Sabha seats and 147 Assembly seats. The ruling BJD has been in power since 2000 under Naveen Patnaik.
The son-in-law of former chief minister JB Patnaik, he had joined BJD in 2018 and was sent to the Rajya Sabha. Later he contested from Khandapada assembly segment and won the seat.