Bhubaneswar: As many as 10 non-elected political leaders and persons have been given Cabinet and Minister of State (MoS) status, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Bikram Keshari Arukha told the Assembly, Tuesday.
In a written reply to a question of Congress MLA Taraprasad Bahinipati, Arukha said two non-MLAs have been given Cabinet Minister status while eight others are enjoying MoS status.
Western Odisha Development Council (WODC) chairman Subas Chandra Chauhan and Health advisor to state government K Srinath Reddy have been allotted Cabinet rank, he said.
The MoS rank holders are: Minority affairs advisor Mujibulla (Muna) Khan, Health advisor PK Pradhan, BSKY advisor Sudhir Das, Mission Shakti advisor Lopamudra Bauxipatra, E&IT advisor Anubhav Pattnaik, advisor to Agriculture department Krutibas Patra, advisor to Odisha State Agriculture Marketing Board Ramachandra Panda and advisor to digital & financial technology Sopnendu Mohanty.
Besides, two MLAs have been given Cabinet minister rank, one has given deputy minister rank and 12 MLAs are enjoying MoS status, Arukha said.
Leader of Opposition Pradipta Naik and government chief whip Pramila Mallick have been given Cabinet Minister rank while government deputy chief whip Rohit Pujari is holding deputy minister rank.
The other 12 MLAs have been appointed as chairman of District Planning Committees (DPCs) and given MoS status. The MLAs are—Ananta Das, Debesh Acharya, Byomakesh Ray, Mahidhar Rana, Pramod Mallick, Srikanta Sahu, Prasanta Muduli, Rajendra Dholakia, Raghu Ram Padal, Prasanta Jagadev, Satyanarayan Pradhan and Sarada Prasad Nayak.