By Our Correspondent
NEW DELHI/BHUBANESWAR: The blue eyed Rajya Sabha MP of Odisha’s ruling BJD and one of the trusted political lieutenants of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Dr Sasmit Patra, has added another glory in his cap after the Femme First Foundation, an organisation working for women empowerment , inducted MP Dr Patra as one of its Advisors in its Board.
Besides, MP Dr Patra, former Governor and Union Minister Margaret Alva and former Lok Sabha MP from Uttar Pradesh , Annu Tandon, were also inducted in the Advisory Board. The Foundation is being headed by Manipur based Angellica Aribam, who was named one of Forbes India’s “30 Under 30” in 2017.
“We are extremely honored to welcome Dr. Sasmit Patra to our Board of Advisors!,” tweeted Femme First Foundation founder Angellic Aribam.
Accepting the noble invitation, BJD MP Dr Patra thanked the Foundation and wished all successes in future.“Many thanks to Femme First Foundation and Angellic Aribam for the honour. Looking forward to engaging meaningfully on the areas of women’s empowerment and Womens Reservation with the Foundation as a colleague, friend and co-worker,” MP Dr Patra tweeted.
Dr. Sasmit Patra is a Rajya Sabha member from Odisha since 2019 and also a Spokesperson of the Biju Janata Dal. He is a law graduate with a PhD in Business Management. Dr. Patra is committed to increasing women’s participation in political processes. He has a vast political party organisational experience.
While the Founder, Femme First Foundation , Angellic Aribam, hailing from Manipur, in the ethnically and economically marginalized northeastern region of India, Angellica faced racial injustice and discrimination firsthand since her childhood. It motivated her to get involved in politics realizing that politics was the best way to change this status quo.
In 2012, she became the first student from the marginalized northeastern region of India to be elected in the Delhi University Students’ Union Executive Committee. Subsequently, she served as a National General Secretary of the National Students’ Union of India, the students’ wing of Indian National Congress, for five years. In 2017, she decided to pause her political career to work on a larger goal – to get more women into politics.
