BHUBANESWAR: Former minister and BJD Tirtol MLA Bishnu Charan Das passed away at a private hospital here. He was 66. The senior leader had been ailing for the last several months. Das, a prominent Dalit leader of Odisha, was also the Deputy Chairman of State Planning Board.
A six-time MLA, Das was elected to Odisha Assembly five times from Jagatsinghpur and once from Tirtol Constituency. He also had a brief stint as a Rajya Sabha member in 2016. Das had resigned from Rajya Sabha after he was appointed as the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Board.
He was also the School and Mass Education Minister in Naveen Patnaik Cabinet in 2006. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has expressed grief over his death. Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Law Minister Pratap Jena, BJP national vice-president Baijayant Panda, State Congress president Niranjan Patnaik and several leaders cutting across party lines condoled his death.