Bhubaneswar, November 27: Senior IAS officer Sujata Karthikeyan, wife of former bureaucrat and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) chief Naveen Patnaik’s aide VK Pandian, joined duties on Wednesday, a day after the BJP Government rejected her application for extension of child care leave (CCL).
Sujata, the Special Secretary in the Finance Department, had availed six months’ leave immediately after the debacle of BJD in the 2024 general elections.
Sujata, a 2000-batch IAS officer, was granted leave for a period of six months from May 31 to November 26 as her daughter is appearing for the Class-X examinations.
Notably, the Election Commission on May 2 ordered Sujata’s transfer from the Mission Shakti department to a ‘non-public dealing department’ following allegations by BJP that she was actively working as a BJD agent because of the influence of her husband.
Sujata had been posted in the Mission Shakti Department for six years. She was subsequently posted as the Special Secretary to the Finance Department.
On June 5, a day after the results of Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Odisha were announced, Sujata was allowed to go on leave until November 26 “to take care of her minor daughter” appearing in Class-X exams. On November 4, she had asked for the leave to be extended for six more months.
