Minister of State (MOS) for Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
NAME – Shri Pratap Chandra Sarangi
PROFESSION – Politician, Social Worker, Agriculturist
BORN – 4th January, 1955 (Age 66)
PLACE OF BIRTH – Gopinathpur Village, Nilagiri, Balasore, Odisha
FATHER’S NAME – Shri Gobinda Chandra Sarangi
MOTHER’S NAME – Smt. Siddheswari Sarangi
SPOUSE – N/A (Unmarried)
SIBLINGS – N/A
CHILDREN – N/A
EDUCATION – B.A. from Fakir Mohan College, Balasore under Utkal University, Odisha
POLITICAL AFFILIATIONS/PARTY – Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
OFFICIAL WEBSITE – N/A
REMARKABLE ACHIEVEMENT – He has opened a large number of Ekal Vidyalayas (village schools having a single teacher) up to classes 3 or 5 in the interiors of Odisha. These schools are run by the educated youth of their respective villages.
AWARDS – N/A
Shri Pratap Chandra Sarangi is currently serving as the Minister of State (MOS) for Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. He is politically affiliated to Bharatiya Janata Party.
BACKGROUND – Shri Pratap Chandra Sarangi is an Indian politician and Member of Parliament from the Balasore Constituency. He is Minister of State for the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.
He has twice been a Member of Legislative Assembly of Odisha for the terms of 2004-2009 and 2009-2014. He is a former President of the Bajrang Dal (Odisha) and the Joint General Secretary of Vishwa Hindu Parishad Odisha State Unit. He serves as a National Executive member of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Odisha.
He has been involved in different social activities which primarily includes promotion of education in tribal villages. He has delivered motivational talks to students in education institutions and has participated in various spiritual debates and discourses.
UPBRINGING & EDUCATION – Shri Pratap Chandra Sarangi was born in Gopinathpur Village, Nilagiri, Balasore, on January 4, 1955. In 1975, he received his bachelor’s degree from Utkal University’s Fakir Mohan College in Balasore.
Sarangi has been a spiritual seeker since he was a teenager. He aspired to become a Ramakrishna Math monk. He paid visits to Belur Math, the Ramakrishna Order’s headquarters situated in West Bengal. However, he was asked by the monks to instead take care of his widowed mother. He is not married to anyone.
WALK OF LIFE- After Sarangi was not allowed to become a monk, he joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as a district level volunteer. In the 1980s, he started a large number of Ekal Vidyalayas in his village and nearby districts. He has been the President of the Bajrang Dal (Odisha) and the Joint General Secretary of Vishwa Hindu Parishad Odisha State Unit.
In 2004, he contested the Odisha Assembly elections on a BJP ticket and won from the Nilagiri Constituency. He was re-elected as an MLA in the 2009 Odisha Assembly Elections. He contested in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections from Balasore constituency as a BJP candidate but lost to a BJD candidate. He again contested the 2019 Indian General Elections and won from the Balasore Constituency.
On 31st May 2019, he became a Union Minister of State for Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.
MAJOR INITIATIVES TAKEN – N/A
CAREER TIMELINE/POSITION HELD-
2004 – Elected as the member of Odisha Legislative Assembly and became a member of House Committee on Cooperatives, Committee on Members’ Amenities, Committee on Petitions, Standing Committee (IV) on School And Mass Education, Higher Education, Sports And Youth Service, Science And Technology, Information Technology, House Committee on Cyclone/Flood and Public Account Committee.
2009 – Re-elected as an MLA in Odisha Legislative Assembly and became a member of House Committee on Linguistic Minorities, Committee on Members’ Amenities, Committee on Petitions, and Standing Committee (IV) on School And Mass Education, Higher Education, Sports And Youth Service, Science And Technology, Information Technology.
2014 – Contested the 16th Lok Sabha elections but lost to a BJD candidate by 1.42 lakhs votes.
2019 – Won the 17th Lok Sabha elections from the Balasore constituency by more than 12000 votes over his opponents. Became a Union Minister of State for Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.
CONTROVERSIES/CASES – In 1999, Australian Christian missionary Graham Staines and his two children (aged 11 and 7) were burnt to death while they were sleeping in their station wagon. Sarangi was then the chief of Bajrang Dal, an organization which was accused of these killings by Christian community leaders.
However, an official investigation found no proof that any one party was responsible. In 2003, the Odisha High Court convicted Dara Singh, a man with links to the party, and 12 others were convicted after a lengthy trial. Two years later, Singh’s death penalty along with 11 others were commuted by the High Court due to lack of evidence.
In 2002, there was an attack on the Orissa state assembly by Hindu rightwing groups, including the Bajrang Dal. Sarangi, who was the state President of Bajrang Dal, was also arrested on charges of rioting, arson, assault and damaging government property.