Bhubaneswar: Former Rajya Sabha member and Bhasa Suraksha Sammilani president Baishnab Charan Parida died at a private hospital here on Monday morning after battling cancer.
The 77 year-old-leader is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.
Born on February 15, 1941 in Srirampur in Mangalpur in Jajpur district, Parida moved to Calcutta after completing his high school and did his BA from Bangabasi College. He also completed MA in Political Science from the University of Calcutta and did his MPhil from Moscow University
He was in the Communist party for 31 years and had written a dozen books on communism. He had been a member of the Communist Party of India (CPI) from 1960 to 1992. He was actively involved in trade union and labour movement in West Bengal and participated in many dharnas.
In 1974, Parida moved to Moscow for a special assignment for Indo-Soviet co-ordination. He stayed there till 1989.
After his differences with the CPI in 1992, he quit the party and joined the Congress.
Later, he left the grand old party and joined the Samajwadi Party in 1999. He was also the Samajwadi Party Odisha unit chief. In 2008, he joined the BJD and in 2010, the party sent him to the Rajya Sabha. He served as a member of the Upper House till 2016.
As convenor of the Odia Bhasa Suraksha Sammilani, he had taken many steps to promote the Odia language. He was critical of Chief Minister and BJD president Naveen Patnaik for his lack of command over Odia language.
