Sambit Patra

Last updated

Sambit Patra
Sambit Patra.jpeg
Sambit Patra at Puri in 2024
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
Assumed office
4 June 2024
Occupation
  • Surgeon
  • politician

Sambit Patra (born 13 December 1974) is an Indian politician and surgeon who serves as the Member of Parliament from the Puri constituency since 4 June 2024. He has served as the national spokesperson of the Bharatiya Janata Party since 2014 and currently serving as a chairman in tourism department since November 2021. [3] Patra had his first job at Hindu Rao Hospital. He was appointed an independent director [4] of the board of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) in 2017. [5] [6] On 30 November 2021, Patra was appointed Chairman of the India Tourism Development Corporation. [7]

Contents

Early life and education

Patra was born in an Odia family [8] to Rabindra Nath Patra on 13 December 1974 in Bokaro Steel City, then part of Dhanbad district of the state of Bihar, which is now a part of Bokaro district of Jharkhand. [9] [10] His father worked in the Bokaro Steel Plant. He did his primary and intermediate schooling in Chinmaya Vidyalaya, Bokaro. [10] He did his MBBS from Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research at Sambalpur in 1997 and his Master of Surgery (MS) in General Surgery from Srirama Chandra Bhanja Medical College and Hospital at Cuttack in 2002. [10] [6]

Patra had qualified Combined Medical Services Examination conducted by the UPSC in 2003 and joined Hindu Rao Hospital as a medical officer. [1]

Political career

Patra's political career started in 2010 when he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as a spokesperson for its Delhi unit. In 2012, Patra lost the municipal election as the BJP's candidate from Delhi's Kashmiri Gate [11] and at the same time resigned from his job to pursue politics full-time. In the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections in 2014, Patra campaigned for the BJP and gained visibility on national television. When the BJP came to power, Patra became its national spokesperson. [12] [13] In 2017, Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) appointed him as a non-official director of ONGC. [14]

Patra contested the Puri Lok Sabha seat in the 2019 Indian general election, and lost to sitting Biju Janata Dal (BJD) member Pinaki Misra by 11,700 votes or 1.03% margin. [15]

In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, Patra again contesting from Puri, defeated Arup Patnaik of Biju Janata Dal by a margin of 104,709. [16] [17]

Controversies

In September 2017, Patra was appointed an independent/Non-Official Director (NOD) of the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC) Board for a renewable term of three years. Him being an active member and official spokesperson of the ruling party (BJP) was viewed as a violation of the companies act and subsequently challenged in the Delhi High Court by Energy Watchdog (NGO). The petition also alleged the entire selection process to be "flawed". [18] [19] [20] In November 2017, The Delhi High Court dismissed the PIL on grounds of it being "Unsubstantiated" and "Without Merit". The court also stated that questioning Patra's independence to discharge his official duties as an independent director merely on his association with the ruling party (BJP) would be "Highly Inappropriate". [21] [22] Later, the Supreme Court asked the NGO who filed the PIL to "Serve a copy to the Union of India". The SC Bench posted the matter for a later date and mentioned "After hearing preliminary arguments, we can issue formal notice." [23]

In February 2020, Patra tweeted a fake video of ex-INC MLA Naseem Khan chanting 'Pakistan Zindabad', which made the latter file a police complaint against Patra in Mumbai. [24] [25] On 18 May, a tweet by Patra, which included pictures of a document "toolkit" containing social media measures allegedly used by the Congress to hurt Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's image during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, was flagged by Twitter as manipulated media. [26] This decision by Twitter was possibly in response to the Congress lodging a complaint with Twitter's California headquarters to suspend accounts for prominent BJP leaders for allegedly "spreading misinformation and unrest in the society". [27] The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology responded with a letter to Twitter alleging unilateral, arbitrary and politically biased decision on Twitter's part in passing judgement on Patra's case, which was under investigation. [27]

Patra was among two doctors under the Delhi Medical Council scanner for alleged negligence in post-operative care. The complaint dated 1 August 2014 is “under consideration”, according to the council's website. [28]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">L. K. Advani</span> 7th Deputy Prime Minister of India (born 1927)

Lal Krishna Advani was an Indian politician who served as the 7th Deputy Prime Minister of India from 2002 to 2004. He is one of the co-founders of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a right-wing Hindu nationalist volunteer organization. He is the longest serving Minister of Home Affairs serving from 1998 to 2004. He is also the longest serving Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. He was the prime ministerial candidate of the BJP during the 2009 general election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ram Vilas Paswan</span> Indian politician (1946–2020)

Ram Vilas Paswan was an Indian politician from Bihar and the Cabinet Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution in the first and second Modi ministries. Paswan was also the president of the Lok Janshakti Party, nine-times Lok Sabha member and two-time Rajya Sabha MP. He started his political career as member of Samyukta Socialist Party and was elected to the Bihar Legislative Assembly in 1969. Later, Paswan joined Lok Dal upon its formation in 1974, and became its general secretary. He opposed the emergency, and was arrested during this period. He first entered the Lok Sabha in 1977, as a Janata Party member from Hajipur constituency, and was elected again in 1980, 1989, 1991, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2004 and 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rajiv Pratap Rudy</span> Indian politician and commercial pilot

Rajiv Pratap Rudy is an Indian politician from Bihar. He is a four-time Member of Parliament representing Bharatiya Janata Party. In 2023, he won from Saran in Bihar. Earlier, he won three times in 1996, 1999 and 2014 from Chapra Assembly Constituency, which later became Saran. He was also an MLA from Taraiya Assembly Constituency representing Janata Dal in 1990. He is also a licensed pilot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bokaro district</span> District of Jharkhand in India

Bokaro district is one of the most industrialized zones in India. It is one of the twenty-four districts of the Jharkhand state, India. It was established in 1991 by carving out one subdivision consisting of two blocks from Dhanbad district and six blocks from Giridih district. It is the part of State Capital Region(SCR).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shankersinh Vaghela</span> Indian politician

Shankersinh Vaghela is an Indian politician and former Chief Minister of Gujarat from. He was also the Leader of Opposition in 13th Gujarat Legislative Assembly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Syed Shahnawaz Hussain</span> Indian politician

Syed Shahnawaz Hussain is an Indian politician and a member of the Central Election Committee of Bharatiya Janata Party. He is one of the national spokespersons of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Hussain was the Minister of Textiles and the Minister Civil Aviation in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. He has been the Minister of Industries of the Government of Bihar from 9 February 2021 to 9 August 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sushma Swaraj</span> Indian politician (1952–2019)

Sushma Swaraj was an Indian lawyer, politician and diplomat who served as the Minister of External Affairs of India in the first Narendra Modi government from 2014 to 2019. She was the second person to complete a 5-year term as the Minister of External Affairs, after Jawaharlal Nehru. A senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Swaraj was the second woman to hold the office of Minister of External Affairs, after Indira Gandhi. She was elected seven times as a Member of Parliament and three times as a Member of the Legislative Assembly. At the age of 25 in 1977, she became the youngest cabinet minister of the Indian state of Haryana. She also served as Chief Minister of Delhi for a short duration in 1998 and became the first female Chief Minister of Delhi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarbananda Sonowal</span> Union Cabinet Minister from Assam (born 1962)

Sarbananda Sonowal is an Indian politician who has served as Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways since 2021. He also has been the Member of the Rajya Sabha representing Assam since 2021 and also a member of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs since 2021. He previously served as the 14th Chief Minister of Assam from 2016 to 2021 and as a member of Assam Legislative Assembly for Majuli from 2016 to 2021 and for Moran from 2001 to 2004. Sonowal earlier served as the Assam state unit President of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from 2012 to 2014 and again from 2015 to 2016. He also served as the Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs, Government of India, from 2014 to 2016 and the Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and Skill Development from 2014 to 2014 and the member of the Lok Sabha from Lakhimpur from 2014 to 2016 and from Dibrugarh from 2004 to 2009. He was also the member of the Asom Gana Parishad from 2001 to 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ravi Shankar Prasad</span> Indian politician and lawyer (born 1954)

Ravi Shankar Prasad is an Indian politician and lawyer, from the Bharatiya Janata Party. A Member of Parliament since 2000, first in the Rajya Sabha (2000–2019) and then in the Lok Sabha, Prasad has served as Union Minister multiple times: As Minister of State, he served in the ministries of Coal (2001–2003), Law and Justice (2002–2003), and Information and Broadcasting (2003–2004) under Atal Bihari Vajpayee's premiership; as Cabinet Minister, he held the Law and Justice, Communications, and Electronics and Information Technology (2014–2021) portfolios under Narendra Modi's premiership.

Puri Lok Sabha Constituency is one of the 21 Lok Sabha (Parliamentary) Constituencies in Odisha state in Eastern India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manoj Tiwari (Delhi politician)</span> Indian politician, singer and actor (born 1971)

Manoj Kumar Tiwari is an Indian politician, singer and actor serving as a Member of Parliament from North East Delhi since 2014. He contested the 2009 general election as a Samajwadi Party candidate from Gorakhpur Lok Sabha but lost to Yogi Adityanath. Again, he contested 2014 Indian general elections as a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate and won. He was appointed as Delhi BJP president in 2016. He was the head of the BJP organisation in Delhi when the party recorded a record victory in 2017 MCD elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">India Tourism Development Corporation</span> Indian public-sector company

The India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) is a hospitality, retail and education company owned by the Government of India, under the administration of the Ministry of Tourism. Established in 1966, it owns over 17 properties under the Ashok Group of Hotels brand, across India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shazia Ilmi</span> Indian politician (born 1970)

Shazia Ilmi is an Indian politician and the national spokesperson of the Bharatiya Janata Party since July 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meenakshi Lekhi</span> Indian politician

Meenakshi Lekhi is an Indian politician who served as the Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture of India from 7 July 2021 till 10 June 2024. She was a Member of Parliament from New Delhi Parliamentary constituency in the 16th and 17th Lok Sabha from the Bharatiya Janata Party. She is also a lawyer in the Supreme Court of India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harsh Vardhan (Delhi politician)</span> Indian politician (born 1954)

Harsh Vardhan is a former Indian politician and otorhinolaryngologist. He had served as the Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Minister of Science and Technology and Minister of Earth Sciences in the BJP-led NDA government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi from 30 May 2019 to 7 July 2021. He represents Chandni Chowk in Delhi as a Member of Parliament in the 17th Lok Sabha. He was elected to the office of chairperson of the executive board of the World Health Organization from 22 May 2020. Vardhan has been prominent in the Indian government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He later resigned from his cabinet post ahead of the cabinet reshuffle in July 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raghav Chadha</span> Indian politician (born 1987)

Raghav Chadha is an Indian politician and a member of the Aam Aadmi Party, who is serving as a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of Indian parliament. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha by the Punjab Legislative Assembly in 2022. He served as the former Vice Chairman of the Delhi Jal Board and a Member of the Delhi Legislative Assembly from the Rajendra Nagar constituency from 2020 till 2022. He is also a working chartered accountant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sudhanshu Trivedi</span> Indian politician

Dr. Sudhanshu Trivedi is an Indian politician and former professor. A leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party and Member of Parliament from its Upper House, the Rajya Sabha since 2019. Trivedi is a senior National Spokesperson of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raju Bista</span> Indian politician

Raju Bista is an Indian politician and managing director of Surya Roshni Limited. He was elected to the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament of India, from Darjeeling, West Bengal in the 2019 Indian general election as a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He is a National Spokesperson of the BJP. On 14 July 2021, he has been appointed as a National General Secretary of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha.

Supriya Shrinate, also known as Supriya Srinet, is an Indian politician and former journalist who is a national spokesperson for the Indian National Congress. She contested the 2019 Indian general election from Maharajganj constituency and lost.

Biranchi Narayan is an Indian politician from Jharkhand. He is a two time MLA from Bokaro Assembly constituency in Bokaro District. He won the 2019 Jharkhand Legislative Assembly election, representing the Bharatiya Janata Party. He is nominated again to contest from Bokaro Assembly seat by BJP.

References

  1. 1 2 "Sambit Patra, furious over the question of being made the chairman of ITDC, said - now the thesis will ask the qualification of UPSC people?". Aaj Tak. 3 December 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  2. "Sambit Patra turns 46: Tracing the political journey of BJP spokesperson" . Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  3. Administrator. "National Office Bearers". www.bjp.org. Archived from the original on 22 October 2014. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  4. Limited, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation. "ONGC - Board of Directors". www.ongcindia.com. Retrieved 18 July 2018.{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  5. "Sambit Patra to be up for reappointment on ONGC board". thehindubusinessline.com. Business Line. 25 January 2019. Retrieved 11 April 2020. Patra was appointed as an Independent Director on the ONGC board on October 28 last year.
  6. 1 2 "Oil & Natural Gas Corp Ltd (ONGC:Natl India)". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 25 March 2019. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
  7. "Sambit Patra appointed as Chairman of ITDC". The Hindu. 2 December 2021. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  8. @sambitswaraj (13 May 2014). "Yes I am an Oriya :)) "@vivek5677: @sambitswaraj sir u r an oriya.orissa desperately need a leader/good orator like u."" (Tweet). Retrieved 27 October 2020 via Twitter.
  9. "Sambit Patra(Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP)):Constituency- PURI(ODISHA) - Affidavit Information of Candidate". myneta.info. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  10. 1 2 3 "जानें क्‍या है भाजपा प्रवक्‍ता संबित पात्रा का धनबाद कनेक्‍शन, टिकट के दावेदारों में उछला नाम". Dainik Jagran (in Hindi). 10 February 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  11. "Ward Wise Result Sheet MCD General Election -2012 Total Votes Polled" (PDF). www.delhi.gov.in. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 May 2017. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  12. Saini, Shivam (26 December 2015). "Is Sambit Patra helping BJP's image?". Business Standard India. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  13. Bamzai, Kaveree (22 December 2018). "The journey of BJP's Sambit Patra from a trained surgeon to a nasty TV star". ThePrint . Retrieved 14 February 2020.
  14. Press Trust of India (30 September 2017). "BJP's Sambit Patra appointed to ONGC board". Hindustan Times . Retrieved 6 December 2018.
  15. "Puri election result: Sambit Patra loses a close fight with Pinaki Misra". The Economic Times . TNN. 24 May 2019. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
  16. "General Election to Parliamentary Constituencies: Trends & Results June-2024 Parliamentary Constituency 17 - Puri (Odisha)". Election Commission of India. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  17. "Bullish Wins & Bearish Losses: Here are the key contests and results of 2024 Lok Sabha polls". Economic Times. 6 June 2024. Archived from the original on 27 July 2024. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  18. Indian, The Logical (7 March 2018). "Sambit Patra Appointed As Independent Director Of ONGC, Supreme Court Asks Centre Why". thelogicalindian.com. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  19. "BJP's Sambit Patra appointed to ONGC board". Hindustan Times. 30 September 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  20. "Sambit Patra's appointment to ONGC Board challenged in High Court". The Economic Times. 25 October 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  21. "Relief to Sambit Patra:HC rejected PIL against his appointment as ONGC director". India Whispers. 6 November 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  22. "HC rejects PIL challenging Sambit Patra's appointment in ONGC". The Economic Times. 6 November 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  23. "SC to hear Centre's reply to plea challenging BJP leader Sambit Patra's appointment to ONGC board". Scroll.in. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  24. Grewal, Kairvy (7 February 2020). "Sambit Patra shares fake video of ex-Congress MLA & asks followers to fact-check it" . Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  25. "'Stop editing videos': Twitter slams Sambit Patra for sharing Cong leader's fake 'Pakistan Zindabad' video". Free Press Journal. 7 February 2020. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  26. "Twitter flags Sambit Patra's tweet on Congress 'toolkit' as manipulated media". The Hindu. 21 May 2021 via www.thehindu.com.
  27. 1 2 Arnimesh, Shanker (22 May 2021). "Ministry warning to Twitter over Sambit Patra 'toolkit' tweet was sent after BJP sought action". ThePrint. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  28. Venugopal, Vasudha (1 April 2016). "BJP spokesman Sambit Patra under Delhi Medical Council lens for negligence in post-operative care". Economic Times. Retrieved 18 March 2022.