The vice-president of the Biju Janata Dal, Soumya Ranjan Patnaik, was removed from his post on Tuesday. This happened before the Assembly and Lok Sabha polls in Odisha. He was removed because he allegedly wrote critical editorials in his Odia daily. The BJD did not give a reason for his removal.
The senior leaders of the BJD accused Soumya Ranjan of blackmailing the party. They claimed that he wrote critical editorials in his Odia daily and gave statements on TV channels. He criticized the way the State government functions and how the 5T Secretary V K Pandian used public money for his tour.
Soumya Ranjan denied the accusation of blackmailing the party. He said that he only gave suggestions to improve the BJD.
