New Delhi:
A day after his request for voluntary retirement came, VK Pandian, former private secretary of Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, has been given the rank of Cabinet Minister in the state government.
An order issued by the Odisha General Administration and Public Complaints Department said that the IAS officer has been appointed as chairman of the state government’s 5T (Transformation Initiatives) and Nabin Odisha scheme. The order states that he will hold the rank of minister.
Earlier, ruling BJD sources had said that Pandian may join the party and is likely to be given a bigger role ahead of next year’s elections, news agency PTI reported.
Mr Pandian, an IAS officer of 2,000 batch under the Odisha cadre, started his career as Sub-Collector of Dharmagarh in Kalahandi in 2002. He was appointed Collector of Mayurbhanj in 2005 and subsequently Collector of Ganjam in 2007. During his posting in Ganjam, he became a trusted officer of the chief minister. Mr Pandian joined the Prime Minister’s Office in 2011 and was later promoted as private secretary to Mr Patnaik.
Pandian’s emergence as the BJD chief’s most trusted aide has drawn fire from the party’s rivals, who have accused him of abusing the position of a bureaucrat.
Soon after his request for voluntary retirement came in, Congress MP Saptagiri Ulaka said he would not be surprised if Pandian takes over as Odisha chief minister before the next elections.
“…such is the power structure in Odisha, no one has any idea what is happening but everyone knows who is in control. VRS approved in 3 days during holidays – Super fast,” he said in a post on X.
Senior Congress MLA SS Saluja said Mr Pandian should have quit public service earlier. “We don’t know whether he will join politics or return to his home state. However, if he joins the BJD, it will be helpful for the opposition, especially the Congress,” Saluja told news agency PTI.
BJP chief Mohan Majhi said, “Now he will be able to do politics openly instead of wearing the mask of a bureaucrat. He will not be accepted by the people of Odisha.”