Dikhyaa Mohanty 
Today, the State Commission for Women’s chairperson and members were fired from their positions with immediate effect by the Mohan Charan Majhi-led administration in Odisha. State Commission for Women Chairperson Minati Behera and the other four members Swarnalata Samal, Sujata Digal, Babita Swain, and Bijaya Barwa have been relieved of their positions effective immediately, according to sources in the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO). According to the sources, the Women and Child Development Department will shortly release an official announcement in this regard.
The action was taken almost four months after the state’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government was established. The Chairperson of the Commission and the other four members are prominent members of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD). In October 2022, BJD leader Minati Behera was named the Commission’s second-term chairperson. In April 2023, the other four members—all of whom are BJD leaders—were appointed.
However, the BJD officials were promptly removed from all government positions, boards, and businesses when the BJP administration took over the state in June.
The State Commission for Women and the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights nevertheless retained the BJD heads, though. The Chairperson and Members were sacked by the State government utilizing the authority granted to them under Section 3 of the Odisha Act-1994 since they did not quit on their own. It should be noted that the Commission’s chairperson and other members serve three-year terms.
