Odisha News: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday (June 9) removed Higher Education Minister Rohit Pujari from the post of minister. Sources in the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) gave this information. According to sources, this is the first time in the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) regime, when a minister was removed for poor performance.
Sources said that Patnaik had recommended the removal of Pujari’s name from the Council of Ministers to Governor Ganeshi Lal. After which his department was handed over to Food and Supplies Minister Atanu S Nayak. Pujari, a two-time MLA from Rairakhol, is yet to receive a response in this regard.
Pujari was made a minister in June last year
Pujari, an MLA from Rairakhol assembly constituency in Odisha, was made a minister in June last year. According to sources, CM Patnaik had reviewed the functioning of all departments from May 22 to June 2, in which he found the performance of the Higher Education Department to be the worst. Every year before May 29, the CM reviews the performance of different departments.
The Chief Minister had earlier asked School and Mass Education Minister Sameer Ranjan Das and Labor Minister Shrikant Sahu to resign in the month of May itself. After which, Sudam Marandi and Sarada Prasad Nayak were given a place in the Council of Ministers in their place.
21 ministers in Odisha
BK Arukha, who resigned from the post of Assembly Speaker, was also given a place in the government and was made the Finance Minister. With the removal of Pujari, there are now 21 ministers left in the Council of Ministers including the Chief Minister. Pujari, an influential leader from the state’s western region, was in news recently when he said that politicians above the age of 60 should quit politics.
Ahead of the completion of the fourth year (on May 29) of the current fifth term of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government, Patnaik asked his ministers about their performance in fulfilling the regional party’s promises made in the 2019 election. Report was asked for.
read this also- Manipur Violence: CBI formed SIT to investigate Manipur violence, command DIG rank officer
<
