Sura warns against fuelling divide over film dispute
As differences between cine actor Manoj Mishra and a group of producers and distributors in the Odia film industry have escalated to a full-scale political war with Congress legislative party leaders Narsingha Mishra and BJP MLA Nauri Nayak lending support to the actor and warning that the dispute could break the state if the ban imposed on him is not removed, senior Congress leader and Jatni MLA Suresh Kumar Routray came down heavily on the secessionist attitude of the western Odisha politicians. “In the entertainment industry, the job of the actors is to entertain the people who pay for it. When the general public has nothing to do with the dispute in Ollywood, what is the justification for calling for a division of the state over a small issue,” he wondered. Routray known for the his frank views without naming anyone said no one has the strength to divide Odisha on regional basis. He, however, called for a solution to the dispute by rescinding the two-year ban on the actor imposed by the Utkal Cine Chamber of Commerce.
~ Bijoy Pradhan
Ulaka-Tara bonhomie mystifies partymen in south Odisha
There are no permanent friends or enemies in politics. This was fully on show in Koraput on Saturday during the inauguration of Parab festival when two arch rivals in Congress politics forgot all their differences. Koraput MP Saptagiri Ulaka and Jeypore MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati do not see eye to eye and are often at loggerheads over different issues. Their rivalry to control Congress politics in southern districts had deteriorated to such an extent that supporters of both the camps had come all the way to Bhubaneswar and demonstrated in front of the Congress Bhavan. But the bonhomie between two leaders at the inauguration ceremony of Parab has left political observers bemused. They addressed each other as kaka (Uncle) and putura (nephew) and went round the town in an open jeep. Congress leaders here, however, are not convinced with the show of comaraderie between the two leaders. Some of them said there is some reason behind this sudden change of attitude. Sources maintained that the entry of Gamang family into Congress may have led these arch rivals to patch up. Members of the Gamang family including former chief minister Giridhar Gamang are set to join Congress in the last week of November.
~ Bijay Chaki