ECI Order: Shalini Pandit Replaces Sujata Karthikeyan As Mission Shakti Secy

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Friday removed IAS officer Sujata Karthikeyan from the post of Secretary, Mission Shakti, and appointed her as Special Secretary, Finance department.

The development followed an instruction from the Election Commission of India in this regard.

A notification of General Administration and Public Grievances department, said Sujata Karthikeyan, Secretary, Mission Shakti with additional charge of Secretary, Odia Language, Literature and Culture department, has been posted as Special Secretary, Finance department.

Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, Shalini Pandit has been assigned additional charge as Secretary of Mission Shakti, and Secretary, Odia Language, Literature and Culture.

Karthikeyan’s additional charge of Secretary, Odia Language, Literature and Culture department will be terminated the day Pandit assumes office, the notification added.

On Thursday, the Election Commission of India (ECI) ordered the transfer of Sujata to a non-public dealing department. The Commission issued the order hours after a delegation of BJP’s central leaders submitted a complaint against Sujata, accusing the 2000-batch IAS officer of ‘actively’ operating as an agent of the ruling BJD in the state.

She is the wife of BJD leader VK Pandian, who took a plunge into state politics after taking voluntary retirement from All India Civil Services in October 2023.

Also Read: ECI Transfers V K Pandian’s Wife Sujata Karthikeyan From Odisha’s Mission Shakti Dept