Bhubaneswar : Former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday called for the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner, citing what he described as "strong differences" between various Election Commissioners and the CEC, and demanded a thorough review of the ongoing SR process.
Speaking to the reporters, Patnaik said the differences within the Election Commission warranted the CEC's immediate resignation and a fresh review of the process.
"Because of the big differences, the sharp differences between various Election Commissioners and the Chief Election Commissioner, the Chief Election Commissioner should immediately resign, and the whole SIR process should be thoroughly revisited. The BJD has been against this SIR process from the very beginning," Patnaik said.
His statement came amid the investigative report by the Indian Express, which stated that two Election Commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, had raised strong objections regarding discrepancies in the SIR process. On the MMDR Act, Patnaik questioned the need to blame others, saying that 20 BJP Lok Sabha MPs from Odisha had supported the legislation in Parliament.
"As far as the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) (MMDR) Act is concerned, why blame others when 20 MPs from Odisha, 20 Lok Sabha MPs of the BJD... of the, forgive me... of the Bharatiya Janata Party supported this bill in Parliament?" he said.
Patnaik said the BJD would take up the issue with the state government and seek a pause and thorough review of the process, alleging that it would result in significant revenue loss for Odisha. "We in the BJD will take this up strongly with the state government to pause, to see that it is revised thoroughly. In this process, it is too much of a loss of revenue for the state," he said.
Former CM on Sunday wrote to Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, urging him to call a special session of the state Assembly and pass a unanimous resolution seeking repeal of the recently passed Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) (MMDR) Amendment.