Bhubaneswar: The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) today removed Khandapada MLA Soumya Ranjan Patnaik from the post of party's vice-president.

An office order of the BJD signed by party supremo Naveen Patnaik was issued in this regard.

Soumya Ranjan Patnaik, Editor of Sambad, had recently penned editorials in the Odia daily raising questions regarding the visit of 5T Secretary VK Pandian to various districts of the state. 

BJD leader Pratap Keshari Deb had advised Patnaik to resign from the party and write editorials criticizing the government. Reacting sharply to Deb’s remark, Patnaik had said the former has no authority to dictate terms to him.

“The minister has no authority to dictate terms to me regarding my editorial and my career in BJD. He cannot issue any direction to me regarding my profession as a newspaper editor and my career as a politician and elected representative from the ruling party. The minister belongs to a royal family and perhaps he is thinking that all others are his subjects. But, I am certainly not anyone’s subject,” Patnaik had said at a press conference here.

The Khandapada legislator further said that the people of Odisha have been supporting BJD and its leader Naveen Patnaik for the last 23 years. But, the popularity of the Chief Minister has come down recently as per the survey by India Today group.

“The ruling party in Odisha has been getting people’s blessings for over last two decades. BJD is not the personal property of any particular individual or group. Is it a sin to make certain advice for the betterment of the party? It is up to the BJD leadership to approve of my suggestions or reject it,” Patnaik said.

The Khandapada MLA rubbished the allegations that he had violated the party discipline by raising certain issues with regard to the governance in Odisha through his editorials.

“I have raised certain issues for the greater interests of the party. Every worker or activist in a democratic party has the right to differ on some issues. We cannot term this as an act of indiscipline,” he added.