Odisha's ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) Saturday expelled its senior leader and former state finance minister Prafulla Ghadai from the party for anti-party activities.
"Prafulla Ghadai has been expelled from the party," Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik told reporters.
The expulsion came hours after local newspaper "Sambad" published excerpt of an yet-to-be published interview of Ghadai in which he purportedly questioned the leadership of Patnaik and accused him of working under the influence of a coterie.
The 74-year-old Ghadai, a close aid of late Biju Patnaik, father of present chief minister, was elected to the state assembly a number of times before he was denied ticket by the party in 2014 election.
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