Sam Pitroda resigns as IT advisor to Odisha govt

Pitroda had been appointed IT advisor and given the rank of a Cabinet minister

Telecom czar Sam Pitroda on Wednesday resigned from the post of IT (information technology) advisor to the Odisha government. He had been appointed the state's IT advisor and given the rank of a Cabinet minister in January 2016.

“Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik accepted the resignation of IT advisor Sam Pitroda today. He had put in his papers earlier in the day,” said an official statement.

Accepting the resignation, Patnaik thanked Pitroda for his contribution to the development of the state's IT sector.

Pitroda's continuation on the post had become controversial following his appointment as chairman of the overseas cell of the Congress party.

The state BJP unit had alleged that the chief minister had given Pitroda a Cabinet minister rank because of his secret understanding with the Congress. It had also accused Pitroda of being involved in the National Herald case.

BJP had questioned his absence when some institutions in the state recently came under cyber attack when the WannaCry ransomware virus hit. It had demanded the immediate removal of Pitroda as IT advisor to the state government.

Hitting back at BJP, in a series of tweets,  Pitroda had said he was clear about his role and responsibilities and did not need advice from BJP on what and how to execute them.

Pitroda was expected to play a crucial role in scripting the IT success story and launching of a roadmap for telecom, IT and ITes (IT enabled services) at a time when the Odisha government is preparing a Vision Document 2036 to mark 100 years of formation of the linguistic state.