The disciplinary committee of the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) has issued show-cause notice to Congress leader and former MP Soumya Ranjan Patnaik for trying to run a parallel organisation which has created confusion among the party rank and file.
The committee, headed by former minister Harihar Karan, met here on Monday to take up several issues, including that of Soumya holding meetings all over the State without informing the presidents of the District Congress Committees (DCCs). Karan said Soumya has been asked to reply to the notice within seven days of receiving the show-cause.
There is no provision in the Congress constitution where a leader can position himself as an extra-constitutional authority, Karan said and added that this has created confusion among the workers. Soumya Ranjan, the younger brother of former OPCC president Niranjan Patnaik, has launched Congress ‘banchao abhijan’ and organised meetings at several places across the State. Soumya Ranjan has raised several uncomfortable questions for the party leadership, including frequent changes in leadership and bad selection of candidates leading to the defeat of the party in 2009 elections.