Pradeep Majhi remains a Soft Target

By Hemanta Pande: In the recent weeks, an alleged photograph of Nabarangpur MP Mr. Pradeep Majhi, who is seen with two South Asian girls inside the water, is doing the round in a section of media. A huge uproar has been made by some BJD leaders over this issue, who demanded his resignation on moral ground. The question remains, even if the photograph is true, is Mr. Majhi accused of criminal activities that warrant his resignation?

Mr. Majhi, who held posts such as Zilla Parishad Chairman and Indian Youth Congress Secretary earlier, had a tough time to get a ticket for Nabarangpur LS seat in 2009. He was targeted by the senior Congressmen in his own area, who did not want him to become the MP at the age of 32! They created a lot of hurdles in his way and even circulated some morphed pictures of Mr. Majhi in the Congress circle in Delhi, but that did not work out.  They also tried to question his educational qualifications to seek rejection of his nomination papers, but failed.

Riding high on his own image and charismatic abilities, Mr. Majhi countered the BJD wave in Odisha and defeated stalwarts like Damburu Majhi (BJD) and Parsuram Majhi (BJP) in the 2009 LS polls from Nabarangpur. In his district, he is known as the ‘One Man Army’, who fights the lone battle, but wins in the end.

When Pradeep was appointed as the President of Odisha Youth Congress, he was targeted by some vested interests within his own party, who did not want to see a young tribal guy from KBK at the helm. During his tenure, Pradeep faced much resistance, but worked with utmost dedication. During the Cabinet Reshuffle in October 2012, Pradeep Majhi was certain to get the nod, but again became a victim of dirty politics and was denied the berth at the eleventh hour.

The latest propaganda could be yet another attempt to demoralise Pradeep Majhi and put an end to his promising political career. Pradeep has vowed not to give up and fight it out. While commenting on this issue at the anniversary of a newspaper, KIIT Founder Dr. Achyuta Samant lashed out at the media for publicizing the private life of politicians and other eminent people. “What’s the harm in taking bath with female friends and accomplices in a river or swimming pool? Do we want to highlight such trivial issues, while putting the issues of national interest in the back burner?” he asked.

While commenting on the recent controversy, Bhubaneswar MP Prasanna Patasani said, “The MPs and MLAs are serving the people in the best interests of democratic structure of our country. As they are responsible for the people’s wellbeing and development, people should respect their privacy, dignity and self-respect”.