Former Rajya Sabha member Baishnab Charan Parida passed away at a private hospital here on Thursday mornig following illness for a long time. He was 77.
The politician, writer and social activist was suffering from cancer for the last seven to eight months. He was admitted to the hospital nine days ago. He was suffering from lipoma infection, said the doctor attending to him at the hospital.
Parida, over the last several years, fought for official use of Odia language by spearheading the Bhasha Andolan.
He was a member of the Rajya Sabha from the B JD from 2010 to 2016. Earlier, he was the State president of the Samajwadi Party from 1999 to 2008.
He was born in Srirampur of Jajpur district in 1941.
A number of leading persons from various walks of life mourned Parida’s death. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik expressed grief over Parida’s demise by taking to the microblogging site Twitter. Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan also condoled his death.