TNI Bureau: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik cracked the whip again by removing his rival Pyari Mohan Mohapatra’s close confidante Sarada Prasad Nayak from the Cabinet.

While suspending Pyari Mohan Mohapatra and two MLAs Prabhat Biswal and Bibhuti Balabantrai, Naveen had dismissed Ministers Anjali Behera and Sanjeeb Sahoo on charges of anti-party and anti-Naveen activities.

However, everyone was surprised that Naveen had spared Sarada Nayak for “mysterious” reasons. Sarada Nayak was considered as the main conspirator behind the midnight coup against Naveen and played an active role in the operation.

While dismissing Sarada Nayak, Naveen revealed that he got enough proof against Sarada and that the Minister was indulged in activities worse than corruption. Meanwhile, the vigilance raids are being conducted at Hotel Radhika, which reportedly hosted anti-Naveen meetings.

Sarada Nayak held the portfolios of Urban Development and Excise. Naveen will keep the Urban Development portfolio, while Finance Minister Prafulla Ghadei will hold the Excise portfolio.

The war-of-words between Naveen and Pyari continued unabated today too. While Pyari refuted Naveen’s charges and brought serious allegations against the CM, Naveen’s associates (Ministers) held a press conference to dub Pyari as “frustrated”. Pyari decided to observe the political situation in BJD further and keep quiet for the time being.