Odisha Congress Expels 5 Leaders Over Ink Attack on Sarat Pattanayak

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Congress has expelled five office bearers for six years following an ink attack on OPCC president Sarat Pattanayak.

Those expelled include OPCC general secretary Prakash Mishra, the general secretary of the party’s women wing Shriyasmita Panda, NSUI secretary Sandip Routray, state Youth Congress secretary Amresh Parida, and NSUI state secretary Aryan Sasmal.

The incident occurred on June 21 at Congress Bhawan in Bhubaneswar. Party members from the youth wing threw ink at Pattanayak while he was meeting with leaders in his chamber. OPCC disciplinary action committee chairman Santosh Singh Saluja stated that the expulsion was based on CCTV footage, labelling the act as indiscipline aimed at tarnishing the party’s image.

Sources reveal that the attack stemmed from dissatisfaction with alleged irregularities in ticket distribution during the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections.

Despite suffering a minor eye injury, Pattanayak dismissed the attack as the work of those envious of the party’s progress. The Congress increased its Assembly seat tally to 14, up from nine in 2019.