Cong leader Niranjan Patnaik's autobiography throws light on Odisha politics

Bhubaneswar, Jul 1 (PTI) Veteran Congress leader Niranjan Patnaik’s autobiography, ‘Samaya Sakhi’ (Time, the Witness), chronicling his political journey, personal experiences and decades of public service in Odisha, was released here on Wednesday.

The book recounts Patnaik’s memories, struggles, achievements and reflections on Odisha’s political landscape, including the decline of the Congress in the state over the past two-and-a-half decades.

The former Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president and ex-cabinet minister writes about several developments that, in his view, contributed to the party’s diminishing popularity and its prolonged absence from power in the state.

In one of the chapters, the writer discusses former chief minister

and former Assam governor JB Patnaik, describing him as a scholar, an able administrator and an accomplished politician.

However, he writes that JB Patnaik’s close association with former advocate general Indrajit Ray adversely affected his public image.

“Though I suggested JB Patnaik, chief minister from 1995 to 1999, to keep away from Ray, who was entangled in an alleged attempt-to-rape case, he did not pay any heed. Finally, this incident created a bad situation for JB,” Patnaik writes.

The autobiography also reflects on the political emergence of Naveen Patnaik and the circumstances in which the Congress lost ground in Odisha.

Announcing the release of the book in a post on X, Niranjan Patnaik described the occasion as an emotional moment.

“With the launch of ‘Samaya Sakhi: Jane Sadharana Odiara Katha’ today, I’m happy to finally share this journey with all of you. It is a deeply emotional moment for me,” he wrote. PTI AAM AAM MNB