Odisha IAS Officer Rises To Ranks Of Cabinet Minister Within 24 Hours Of Resigning From Govt Service

IAS officer VK Pandian was given a seat in the Odisha cabinet within 24 hours of his voluntary retirement from government services.

Former Odisha IAS officer VK Padian gets cabinet minister rank hours after voluntary retirement

Source : X/@manasrmangaraj

Former Odisah bureaucrat, VK Pandian, rose to the ranks of cabinet minister hours after taking voluntary retirement on Tuesday. The former private secretary to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik was inducted in the cabinet within 24 hours after he took  voluntary retirement from government service. 

Pandian has now been appointed Chairman 5T (Transformational Initiatives), said an official notification on Tuesday. 

“Shri V K Pandian is hereby appointed as Chairman 5T (Transformational Initiatives) and Nabin Odisha in the rank of Cabinet Minister. Pandian shall work directly under the Chief Minister,” the General Administration and Public Grievance Department said.

Pandian is a 2000-batch Indian Administrative Services officer of the Odisha cadre and started out as the sub-collector of Dharmagarh in the state's Kalahandi district in 2002.

He was then appointed as the collector of Mayurbhanj district in 2005, and then in 2007, and was later made the collector of Ganjam. It was his posting in Ganjam when he became close to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik who also hails from the same district. 

Pandian’s proximity with CM Patnaik has often landed him in controversies, with opposition parties alleging that he was misusing his position for political gains.

He joined the Chief Minister’s Office in 2011 and has since been Patnaik’s private secretary. 

After Patnaik returned to the CM’s office in 2019, Pandian was given the additional responsibility of the '5T secretary' to implement some transformational initiatives in government departments.

Following Pandia’s voluntary retirement from the services, Congress MP Saptagiri Ulaka said he would not be surprised if Pandian took charge as the chief minister of Odisha before the next elections.

"...such is the power structure in Odisha, no one has clue what's happening but everyone knows who's controlling. VRS approved in 3 days during holidays - Super Fast," he said in a post on X.

Senior Congress MLA SS Saluja welcomed Pandian's decision to take voluntary retirement.

"We welcome his decision. He should have done it earlier. We do not know whether he will join politics or return back to his own state. However, if he joins the BJD, then it will be helpful for the opposition, the Congress is particular," Saluja said.