Naveen Patnaik aide appointed to Odisha Cabinet

A day after the Centre approved the voluntary retirement of Odisha cadre Indian Administrative Service officer VK Pandian, the state government on Tuesday appointed him as a Cabinet minister, reported The Indian Express.

Pandian is a close aide of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and has served as his private secretary for 12 years. The Biju Janata Dal government has appointed him as the chairperson of the 5T programme, which stands for teamwork, technology, transparency, transformation and time.

The programme, a brainchild of Pandian, was launched in 2019. Under the programme, the state government says it has transformed over 4,000 high schools with refurbished classrooms, laboratories and playgrounds, reported the newspaper.

Pandian began his career as the deputy collector of Dharmagarh in Kalahandi district, reported The Hindu. He went on to become the district magistrate of Mayurbhanj and Ganjam before his posting in the Chief Minister’s Office in 2011.

The Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party has raised questions about Patnaik’s reported reliance on bureaucrats more than his party colleagues. BJP national president JP Nadda had said at a rally in Kalahandi district in June that the administration in Odisha had been “outsourced to bureaucracy”.

Biju Janata Dal MLA Soumya Ranjan Patnaik was removed from his post as the vice president of the party last month...

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