BHUBANESWAR: The BJD on Sunday demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Union Education minister Dharmendra Pradhan and state Higher Education minister Suryabanshi Suraj holding them responsible for the self-immolation bid by 20-year-old student Soumyashree Bisi at FM (Autonomous) College in Balasore.
Leader of Opposition and BJD president Naveen Patnaik also sought Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati’s intervention to ensure justice for Soumyashree who set herself afire after allegedly facing sexual harassment at the hands of her department HoD for the last six months. The former chief minister said the Governor serves as the chancellor of key government-run universities including the FM College. “I urge the Governor intervene and ensure that the student receives the justice she so desperately sought,” he added.
Expressing deep shock and distress over the young student resorting to self-immolation in one of Odisha’s premier educational institutions, he said the tragic incident has laid bare the stark reality of how she was denied justice, despite repeatedly voicing her grievances before the college principal and the Higher Education minister to the Union minister and the chief minister.
Referring to Soumyashree’s letter that she had written to the principal, Naveen said she had mentioned that she had earlier attempted suicide but was saved. “For months, she lived in fear and anguish,” the BJD president said adding, “With no action forthcoming, she tragically resorted to setting herself on fire, right outside the principal’s chamber, in a final attempt to end her suffering.”
On the day, activists of the Biju Yuva Janata Dal and Biju Chhatra Janata Dal gheraoed the residence of the chief minister and the Higher Education minister for their alleged failure to give justice to Soumyashree even though she had reached out to them through a social media post on July 1. The BJD also targeted BJP’s Balasore MP Pratap Chandra Sarangi for not taking the issue seriously even after the girl student met him and apprised him about the situation.
Members of the Yuva and Chhatra Congress also gheraoed the residence of the Higher Education minister over the incident demanding his resignation. President of the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) Bhakta Charan Das also put forth the same demand. He further said that the Balasore MP owes an explanation to the people for ignoring the plea of the girl student.
Questioning why the repeated complaint by Soumyashree about the alleged sexual harassment by her teacher was ignored, Das demanded that the college principal too, be immediately arrested stating he should also be considered as one of the accused.
The OPCC president further said that the agitation by Congress over the incident would be extended throughout the state from Monday.