2 days Ago By Moushumi Das Gupta
New Delhi: Senior Odisha cadre IAS officer Sujata R. Karthikeyan, wife of once powerful Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader and Naveen Patnaik’s close aide V. K.
Pandian, has taken voluntary retirement from service, ThePrint has learnt. Karthikeyan had applied for voluntary retirement about a fortnight ago. A source in the central government’s Department of Personnel and Training confirmed to ThePrint that her application has been accepted.
A 2000 cadre IAS officer, Karthikeyan was also considered one of the most powerful civil servants in the state before the rout of the BJD in last year’s assembly elections. She became the face of ‘Mission Shakti’, the erstwhile Naveen Patnaik government’s signature scheme to empower lakhs of women in the state through a network of self-help groups. Trouble started for her just ahead of the assembly elections last year, when the Election Commission of India (ECI) ordered her transfer in May from the Mission Shakti programme under the Women and Child Development Department, where she was the commissioner cum secretary.
The transfer order came soon after a BJP delegation met the ECI and submitted a memorandum seeking Karthikeyan’s transfer for “misuse of public office”. The BJP had alleged that she was using her position as Mission Shakti head to influence women self-help groups to vote for BJD. Soon after the BJD lost power in May last year and the Mohan Manjhi-led BJP government took charge, Karthikeyan, who was a special secretary in the finance department, went on six months’ childcare leave.
She resumed her duties in November after her application seeking a six-month extension of leave was rejected by the Majhi government. There is no clarity yet as to why Karthikeyan has opted for voluntary retirement, with eight years of service still left. ThePrint reached her for comment via phone calls.
This report will be updated if a response is received. A post-graduate in international politics from JNU, Karthikeyan started her bureaucratic career as a sub-collector of Nabarangpur. She was also the first woman collector of Cuttack district.
As collector of Naxal-hit Sundargarh, she introduced eggs in the midday meal scheme in all government schools in the district. Known as an efficient officer, she is credited for building a vast network of SHGs in the state, transforming the lives of lakhs of rural women. That she had the backing of former CM Patnaik helped her deliver.
The 49-year-old was also one of the driving forces behind Millet Shakti, a joint initiative under the Odisha Millets Mission and Mission Shakti to empower women entrepreneurs and promote millet consumption through SHGs. Millet cafes run by women SHGs have mushroomed across Odisha, including in far-flung districts like Kalahandi. Karthikeyan and Pandian were often referred to as the power couple of Odisha during the BJD’s rule.
While Karthikeyan is Odia, her husband is from Tamil Nadu. Pandian, a 2000 cadre IAS, also took VRS in September 2023, just ahead of the assembly elections in the state and formally joined the BJD. There is a growing buzz in Odisha’s bureaucracy that Pandian may soon join an international organisation.
Pandian was involved in all aspects of the electioneering process, from selection of candidates to picking up issues to highlight as Patnaik sought a sixth term in office. In fact, the BJD had named him one of their star campaigners. It is said in party circles that he became a kind of shadow CM, wielding immense power, both in the party and bureaucracy.
But a BJD leader, who did not wish to be named, said his unbridled power alienated not only party workers but people on the ground, leading to BJD’s humiliating drubbing. Ahead of the elections, the opposition BJP made Pandian a big election issue. They targeted the Patnaik-led BJD government for compromising Odisha’s ‘asmita’ (pride) by giving unbridled power to a former IAS belonging to Tamil Nadu.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das) Also Read: IAS officers must not fear demands of digital age Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).
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