OPCC President Niranjan Patnaik Rules Out ‘Sanyas’ From Odisha Politics

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Niranjan Patnaik here on Tuesday ruled out taking ‘sanyas’ (retirement) from active politics in the near future.

Addressing a press conference, Niranjan said whether he contests in election or holds any post, he will continue to remain in politics to serve the people of Odisha.

The veteran Congress leader said he was pained to find political leaders deviating from the path of non-violence shown by Gandhiji. “It is a matter of grave concern that corruption and violence have taken a firm foothold in politics,” he noted.

Claiming to be a “Gandhian”, Niranjan said he would continue to follow his ideologies and principles as long as possible in his struggle against the present “polluted politics”. Incidentally, Niranjan, who is related to former Chief Minister J B Patnaik, belongs to a family of businessmen with stakes in different sectors including mining, media and automobile.

Citing the recent case of the attack on former Soro MLA Surendra Parmanik by his rival and MLA Parshuram Dhada in Chitol panchayat, he asked, ” Is this the way democracy should function?” He said he would visit Soro to enquire about the ground situation from party workers.

Stating that violence against women in the state has considerably increased, the former minister said it is painful to read the news of rape, murder and sexual exploitation on daily basis.

Playing the OBC card apparently with an eye on the ongoing panchayat elections, the OPCC president said his party has given tickets to 44.78% of candidates belonging to other backward classes (OBCs). The Congress will approach court on why OBCs were not getting reservation in the elections, he added.

He appealed to the voters to take all these factors into consideration and select the leaders who believe in honesty and Gandhian philosophy before casting their votes in the panchayat elections.