Patnaik puts in papers
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Feb 9 — The Orissa Chief Minister, Mr J.B. Patnaik, has submitted his resignation to the Congress President, Mrs Sonia Gandhi. A search for his successor has begun.

Mr Patnaik, one of the longest-serving Chief Ministers in the country, put in his papers here last night after a sequence of events rocked the state, particularly attacks on Christians.

While Mr Patnaik announced the decision at Bhubaneswar stating that he did so "owning moral responsibility’’, the party spokesman, Mr Ajit Jogi confirmed it here at the daily briefing.

Party sources said a search for Mr Patnaik’s successor was on and a final decision on accepting his resignation was expected to be taken after the selection of new leader.

Mr Patnaik, the sources said, has been given the option to name his successor even as the Congress President made her decision to ask him to step down known through two General Secretaries, Mr Madhavrao Scindia and Mr Pranab Mukherjee last night.

As per available indications, the aspirants include the Deputy Chief Minister, Mr Basant Biswal who has been spearheading dissident movement against Mr Patnaik. The others in the reckoning are Mr Girdhar Gamang, former Union Minister, Mr Hemendra Biswal, the PCC chief, Mr K.C. Lenka, Mr Niranjan Patnaik, the PWD Minister and Mr K.P. Singh Deo, former union minister.

While the outgoing Chief Minister’s choice is likely to be Mr Niranjan Patnaik. The choice of the leader would also depend on other factors including the need to have a person who will lead the party in the Assembly poll due early next year.

Mr Gamang and Mr Hemananda Biswal belong to tribal communities, Mr Lenka is a backward while Mr Singh Deo belongs to a forward caste.

Earlier, Mr Jogi said that a decision on the future of Mr Patnaik will be taken by the Congress President.

He said the Chief Minister decided to step down in keeping with the high moral standards the party has been adopting and stressed it was not in any way "failure of the Congress Government in Orissa".

Mr Jogi said the attacks on Christians was part of "diabolic design" and the incidents in Orissa were not isolated ones.

Party sources said the decision to remove Mr J.B. Patnaik had been taken some time back in view of the impending Assembly elections and that the series of incidents only hastened his exit.

It may be recalled that the Chief Minister was summoned by the Congress President last month soon after the Anjana Mishra gang-rape incident. Adding to this was the burning of Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two son inside a jeep in Manoharpur village last month.

Two more incidents occurred after that, including the rape of a nun in Baripada town and the alleged rape attempt of a girl and murder of youth belonging to the community.