Listing embarrassment
The ruling BJD recently reconstituted the frontal organisations of the party, appointing nearly 400 office-bearers each in the women's student and youth wings. However, most embarrassingly, the name of a deceased woman leader Meenakshee Mishra found mentioned in the list of executive body members of the Biju Mahila Janata Dal, the party’s women wing. Meenakshi had, in fact, committed self-immolation in front of the Berhampur SP office on February 12, 2020, protesting a false case filed against her son. She poured kerosene and set herself ablaze. She died after eight days while undergoing treatment in the MKCG Medical College and Hospital. At that time, Meenakshi was an executive member of the Biju Mahila Janata Dal, Berhampur. The inclusion of her name in the latest list has surprised party workers as well as the people. It has also raised questions on how far the BJD managers are aware of the affairs of the party. Till the time, the report was written, the list was still not corrected.
No laughing matter this!
A junior engineer (JE) in Baliapal block of Balasore district had to pay the price for laughing at senior officers during a flood review. His only mistake was that he told the truth about the actual number of flood-affected people who were served cooked food by the local administration. The JE received an official message (prior to the meeting) in which it was mentioned that 850 people were provided cooked food, while the actual number was only 50.
When he was asked about the number of people fed, he could not resist a laugh. He was not only asked to leave the meeting by the seniors but also served with a show-cause notice as to why disciplinary action deemed fit will not be initiated for coming to the meeting in an “inebriated condition”. The flabbergasted JE realised the hard way that his instinctive expression over the manipulative action of the seniors was really the gravest mistake. Not taking it (show-cause) lying down, the JE is now ready to fight it out.
Sailing the political boat
Political outfits and activists hardly waste any opportunity to take advantage. For them, natural disasters are the best opportune time to cash in on. When parts of Khurda district were grappling with floods with several villages remaining marooned for days, the ruling party activists did not give it a miss to earn quick bucks and promote themselves. Some of them stood guard at Pandiabili under the Jatni tehsil area with boats painted green, apart from BJD and its symbol engraved, for ferrying people. All safety rules were thrown to the winds as they ferried people without life jackets. The boatman was heard saying, “Do not fear, it’s a BJD boat. It will continue to sail for several years to come and carry people to their destination safely.” Though there was another boat provided by the district administration for the distribution of relief materials and ferrying medical teams, the boatman was unavailable.
Inputs by Bijay Chaki, Bijoy Pradhan, Hemant Rout