Bhubaneswar: CM Naveen Patnaik appointed Sunday BJD’s senior leader and former minister Sanjay Das Burma as Deputy Chairman of the State Planning Board with cabinet rank. In February, the Odisha government had announced to restructure the Board on the lines of NITI Aayog.
With the appointment, all speculations regarding Sanjay being nominated to the Rajya Sabha has come to an end.
Senior BJD leader and former Rajya Sabha member Bisnu Charan Das had earlier held this position.
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A two-time MLA from Brahmagiri constituency, Sanjay previously held the position of Minister of State (Ind), Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare and Minister of State (Ind), Employment and Technical Education and Training. He has also served as the president of Biju Yuva Janata Dal, and also as the secretary, convener and vice- president of BJD. He had unsuccessfully contested from Brahmagiri Assembly constituency in 2019 polls.
The former minister said reacting to his new role stated that he would like to make the board very pro-active. “I will have to confer with the CM in this regard. I promise I will present the State Planning Board in a new ‘avatar’ before you,” he added.
PNN