Pradeep Kumar Amat is new Speaker of Odisha Assembly

BY OUR CORRESPONDENT

Bhubaneswar, May 16: Senior Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader and former finance minister Pradeep Kumar Amat on Tuesday assumed charge as the Speaker of Odisha Assembly after a formal announcement by deputy speaker Sanand Marandi following a voice vote in the House.

The election to the post of Speaker was necessitated following resignation of Niranjan Pujari during the recent ministry reshuffle. Mr Amat who was holding the finance portfolio was dropped the ministry.

A motion of notice was on Monday moved by BJD before the Assembly secretary to elect Mr Amat for the top post. Following the notice, a special meeting of the House was convened today and BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik moved a resolution in this regard which was seconded by parliamentary affairs minister Bikram Arukh.

A four-time legislator Amat had won from Boudh Assembly constituency in 2000 independently.

Since then he had been elected to the House for three consecutive terms on BJD tickets.

The veteran politician had held the steel and mines portfolio during the last part of Naveen’s second term between 2008 and 2009. However, he had successfully served as Speaker of the Assembly for full term during the third term of BJD government.

He had again come back to the Cabinet with the most important portfolio-finance department-after BJD regained power in 2014. Two years after, he was assigned additional charge of health and family welfare department after Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak resigned from the post in the wake of Sum Hospital fire tragedy.