All posts tagged: Naveen Patnaik

Pradhan says he quit after attempts made to 'mislead' Gen Z during NEET protests

Pradhan says he quit after attempts made to 'mislead' Gen Z during NEET protests

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Senior BJP leader and Sambalpur MP Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday said attempts were made to “mislead” Gen Z during the protests over the NEET paper leak issue, prompting him to quit as Union Education Minister. Pradhan broke his silence on his resignation while addressing students and teachers at GM University here, exactly two weeks after he stepped down amid massive protests at Jantar Mantar in Delhi over the issue. “Gen Z is our children. Some people attempted to mislead them. I had no personal issues then. At least two crore children are born in India every year. During the last 10 years, 20 crore children were born. They have aspirations, and they will make India the ”Vishwa Guru”. The post was not important to me,” Pradhan said. He said he had approached Prime Minister Narendra Modi and offered to resign from the Union Council of Ministers. Pradhan resigned from the ministry on July 25. At another meeting in Rairakhol, Pradhan hit out at former Odisha chief minister and BJD president Naveen Patnaik, saying he was …

VK Pandian’s wife Sujata Rout Karthikeyan joins BJD, Naveen Patnaik clarifies leadership question

VK Pandian’s wife Sujata Rout Karthikeyan joins BJD, Naveen Patnaik clarifies leadership question

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Former IAS officer Sujata Rout Karthikeyan formally joined ex-Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik’s Biju Janata Dal on Thursday, with Patnaik himself announcing her induction into the party at the headquarters Shankha Bhawan in Bhubaneswar. Sujata Rout Karthikeyan is widely credited with expanding Mission Shakti, the women’s empowerment programme of the previous BJD government. (ANI screengrab) Sujata is the wife of Patnaik’s close aide and bureaucrat-turned-politician VK Pandian, whom many in the BJD had blamed for the party being voted out of power in the state in 2024 after more than two decades of rule. “I would like to welcome Sujata Rout to the BJD. She will be joining the party as a simple member. She has been an IAS officer and held several important positions, including her last assignment where she looked after many women of our state,” Patnaik said while announcing Sujata’s induction. “I am sure, as time passes, she will get used to her new position. She will learn to lead people, particularly women,” he added. Some senior BJD leaders had earlier opposed …

‘Remain aligned with Modi’: Why Dharmendra Pradhan ‘reached out’ to Naveen Patnaik | Political Pulse News

‘Remain aligned with Modi’: Why Dharmendra Pradhan ‘reached out’ to Naveen Patnaik | Political Pulse News

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Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s recent statement urging Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president and former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to remain aligned with Prime Minister Narendra Modi appears laden with political messaging amid shifting political dynamics in Odisha. Addressing a gathering in Rairakhol in his Sambalpur parliamentary constituency over a week ago, Pradhan took a swipe at Patnaik for the BJD’s stand on the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, which failed to secure the required two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha. The Bill had proposed to increase the number of seats in the Lok Sabha as well state Assemblies as well as provide 33% quota for women. With senior BJD leader and Deputy Leader of Opposition in the Odisha Assembly, Prasanna Acharya, present at the meeting, Pradhan appealed to him to “convince” Patnaik. “Naveen babu is a good person, but his party opposed the Bill that had provisions to increase seats in Parliament and state assemblies. We request Prasanna bhai to meet Naveen babu and convince him not to take a fluctuating stand and …

BJD appoints Manas Mangaraj as Rajya Sabha leader after exit of Sasmit Patra| India News

BJD appoints Manas Mangaraj as Rajya Sabha leader after exit of Sasmit Patra| India News

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Less than a week after senior MP Sasmit Patra resigned as chairman of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) parliamentary party in the Rajya Sabha, party president Naveen Patnaik on Monday appointed Manas Mangaraj as the new leader in the Upper House. Mangaraj said he would strive to uphold the values and vision of the BJD while effectively raising the concerns of the people of Odisha in the Rajya Sabha (X/manasrmangaraj) Patnaik also named Sulata Deo as the deputy leader and chief whip of the BJD parliamentary party in the Rajya Sabha. Mangaraj, 55, a former journalist and media adviser to the Odisha government, joined the BJD in 2018 and started his Rajya Sabha term in July 2022. Considered close to former bureaucrat VK Pandian, his elevation is seen by party leaders as an effort to stabilise the party’s functioning in Parliament at a time of internal strain. Sasmit Patra resigned last week after four Rajya Sabha MPs wrote to Patnaik seeking his removal from the post of parliamentary party chairman. It is not clear what grounds …

BJP leaders turn on own MP after shocking CIA claims against Biju Patnaik

BJP leaders turn on own MP after shocking CIA claims against Biju Patnaik

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3 min readBhubaneswarMar 30, 2026 08:31 PM IST BJP MP Nishikant Dubey’s comments on former Odisha chief minister Biju Patnaik were condemned by his party colleague Baijayant Panda, who said on Monday that casting aspersions on Patnaik’s patriotism is “fantastical and patently ludicrous”. Panda, who is a national vice president of the BJP and an MP from Odisha’s Kendrapada, called Biju Patnaik one of the greatest patriots of modern India. Disapproving of Dubey’s remarks, Panda said such attacks were “unworthy, uninformed and totally unacceptable”. “Biju uncle was a towering personality, not just Odisha’s tallest leader of his era, but among the leading lights of the nation. National pride burned deep in his veins, and he dedicated his life to liberating India and uplifting Odisha. He did that as a pilot, industrialist, political leader, and global trouble-shooter. His heroic missions, diplomatic and defence initiatives all contributed to strengthening our fledgling republic,” Panda said in a post on X. Baijayant Panda’s father, Bansidhar Panda, a noted industrialist in Odisha, had close ties with Biju Patnaik. Though he …

Naveen Patnaik slams Nishikant Dubey’s remarks on Biju Patnaik, calls them ‘outrageous’| India News

Naveen Patnaik slams Nishikant Dubey’s remarks on Biju Patnaik, calls them ‘outrageous’| India News

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Bhubaneswar: BJD president Naveen Patnaik on Monday criticised BJP MP Nishikant Dubey’s remarks on former Odisha chief minister Biju Patnaik, terming the comments “outrageous” and describing them as baseless allegations against a leader regarded as Odisha’s pride. Former Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik. (Arabinda Mahapatra/Hindustan Times) The controversy stems from Dubey’s recent statement questioning Biju Patnaik’s role during the Sino-Indian War of 1962. Dubey alleged that then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru conducted the war effort with American assistance and coordination with the CIA, and claimed that Biju Patnaik acted as a liaison between the US government, the CIA and Nehru. Responding to the remarks, former CM Patnaik said he was “surprised” and “shocked” by what he described as false and irresponsible insinuations about his father’s role in national defence. He recalled that Nehru had relied on Biju Patnaik during the conflict and had even placed an office next to his in Delhi to coordinate tactical responses against Chinese forces. “I was very young at the time, about 13 years old, but I remember how furious …

As PM Narendra Modi becomes longest-serving head of government in India, a look at the top 5 leaders| India News

As PM Narendra Modi becomes longest-serving head of government in India, a look at the top 5 leaders| India News

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Sunday, became the longest serving head of government in India. He surpassed former Sikkim CM Pawan Kumar Chamling’s record of 8,930-day to reach the milestone. Modi has entered his 8,931t day in public life as a head of government, first as Gujarat chief minister and now as Prime Minister. The Prime Minister had completed 25 years as head of government in October last year. (AFP) Modi was the chief minister from October 2001 to May 2014, before he was elected as the PM. He is the also first Prime Minister born after Independence and is the third longest-serving PM of India, behind Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. In October 2025, PM Modi had entered the 25th year of his tenure as head of government. Check the full list of longest serving head of governments in India While Modi tops the list now, for the longest time, former Sikkim CM Pawan Kumar Chamling was the longest serving head of government, having been in office for 25 years from 1994 to 2019. …

Will History Repeat in Odisha? Naveen Patnaik Fears ‘2002 Rerun’ as Rajya Sabha Battle Triggers Resort Politics

Will History Repeat in Odisha? Naveen Patnaik Fears ‘2002 Rerun’ as Rajya Sabha Battle Triggers Resort Politics

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4 min readBhubaneswarUpdated: Mar 15, 2026 05:50 PM IST Fears of cross-voting have triggered political caution in Odisha ahead of voting for the fourth Rajya Sabha seat, where no party has clear numbers. While the Congress has moved some of its MLAs to a private resort in Bengaluru, the BJD has stepped up efforts to keep its legislators together. Party president and former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has asked BJD MLAs to attend two-hour meetings at his residence, Naveen Niwas, for three days starting Friday. According to Patnaik’s letter to party legislators, the meetings will include presentations and training sessions on the Rajya Sabha poll procedure and voting process. “A contest in the Rajya Sabha election in Odisha is being held after 12 years. The last time it was held was in February 2014. Many MLAs are not familiar with the voting process, so it is important to train them to ensure votes are not rejected,” a senior BJD leader said. On Sunday, Patnaik is scheduled to chair a BJD legislature party meeting at his …

Patnaik accuses Mohan Majhi govt of betraying farmers over paddy procurement| India News

Patnaik accuses Mohan Majhi govt of betraying farmers over paddy procurement| India News

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Former chief minister and Biju Janata Dal president Naveen Patnaik on Monday alleged that there has been a “complete systemic failure” in the state’s ongoing Kharif paddy procurement operations at state-run mandis. Odisha chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi at the inauguration of the paddy procurement system in Kendujhar on December 26 (@CMO_Odisha X) In a letter to chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Patnaik alleged that the current procurement season has been marked by “profound struggle” for the farmer community, and attributed the crisis to administrative negligence and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party government’s failure to honour its 2024 poll promises. “At the heart of farmer grievances lies the continued prevalence of ‘katni chhatni’ — arbitrary and illegal deductions from agricultural produce at procurement centres. During the 2024 elections, you made solemn commitments to the farming community regarding enhanced MSP and stopping of Katni-Chhatni. However, the ground reality across Mandis tells a story of betrayal,” Patnaik said in his letter. He alleged that deductions of 5-7 kg per quintal, or even higher, are being made under …

Patnaik becomes BJD president for 9th time, asks party workers to expose BJP’s ‘false’ narrative

Patnaik becomes BJD president for 9th time, asks party workers to expose BJP’s ‘false’ narrative

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Former Odisha Chief Minister and BJD President Naveen Patnaik. File | Photo Credit: PTI Former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who was chosen as the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president for the ninth time in a row, on Saturday (April 19, 2025) called upon party workers to expose the alleged false narrative of the ruling BJP. BJD’s organisational election returning officer P.K. Deb announced Mr. Patnaik as the party president at the state council meeting held at its state headquarters, Sankha Bhawan. Addressing party leaders and workers after being named as the BJD president, Mr. Patnaik said, “We conceded defeat in the last Assembly election by a narrow margin, even though our party got more votes. This is because we couldn’t effectively counter the false narrative. Creating a false narrative is the main strategy against the BJD. We should be aggressive in exposing this, especially on social media.” The Leader of Opposition in the Odisha Assembly also said, “We need to improve our social media presence. Technology should be used to tell the truth and …