Bhubaneswar: The BJD Saturday demanded the dismissal of Odisha’s Health minister Mukesh Mahaling and arrest of BJP’s Titlagarh MLA Nabin Jain for allegedly violating laws during Ram Navami processions in separate places.
The Opposition party, in a statement, alleged that Health Minister Mahaling was seen riding a motorbike without a helmet and leading a rally while MLA Jain indulged in blank firing into the air in full public view.
Both cases are a stark display of the breakdown of law and order in the state, the BJD claimed.
The Opposition BJD and Congress are demanding Mahaling’s dismissal over the death of 12 patients in a fire at the ICU of the state-run SCB Medical College Hospital in Cuttack.
Videos of the minister riding the bike without a helmet in Bhubaneswar Friday and the MLA making blank fire at Titlagarh have gone viral on social media.
Mahaling was not immediately available for comment.
“The BJP, which claims to uphold values, ethics, and morality, is in reality undermining them daily. These two incidents are sufficient to speak about the BJP’s moral value,” BJD spokesman Lenin Mohanty said.
Addressing a press conference, BJD senior general secretary and former minister Tukuni Sahu alleged that Nabin Jain, being a ruling party MLA, has grossly violated the legal system.
“As a public representative, firing gunshots in a peaceful place like Titlagarh in front of the public constitutes a serious criminal offence,” Sahu said, asking the Odisha Police to take cognisance of the matter and immediately arrest him.
“Such incidents are not new for him. Earlier, during a Holi procession, Jain had allegedly pushed a worker out of a moving auto-rickshaw, resulting in the worker’s death. However, since he is a ruling party MLA, no action was taken against him,” Sahu alleged.
She said that getting patronage from the government has only increased Jain’s arrogance and reckless behaviour, which is dangerous for Titlagarh and the people of the state.
Jain, however, claimed that the gun used to make blank fire was a toy gun and not a real gun. The BJP MLA said he made blank firing only to encourage the Ram Bhakts in the rally and not to terrorise anyone, as alleged.
Meanwhile, sources said the district police have sought a report from the PSO (personal security officer) who was accompanying the MLA and seen in the viral video.
The BJD also, in the statement, alleged that BJP workers have been creating disturbances on the capital’s main roads using private vehicles fitted with red beacons, while the Commissionerate Police remain a silent spectator.
“We want Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, who is also the Home minister of the state, to take immediate note of the incident and restore the law and order situation in the state,” Mohanty said.