Cuttack: Union petroleum minister and senior BJP leader Dharmendra Pradhan is said to have likened Cuttack Nagar Yuvak Sangha (CNYS), the organisation headed by arrested gangster Sushil Dhalasamanta, with Baimundi, the fabled protector of the Silver City, at a public function held here January 10.
“Cuttack Nagar Yuvak Sangha is working as the historic character of Baimundi. The organisation is taking up responsibilities of the kind that once Baimundi had taken up,” Pradhan is said to have said at the event. He also reportedly showered praises on Dhalasamanta, the outfit’s president, for organising such events.
Pradhan’s purported remarks were criticised by intellectuals who said his words brought indignity to the name of Baimundi, an ancient figure revered for having saved Cuttack once.
With history being largely mute on the details of the Baimundi character, his persona and contributions are often considered apocryphal.
While some authorities term King Markat Keshari as Baimundi, others say the character was an ordinary citizen during the period.
Notably, Pradhan’s name did not figure in the list of invitees who had attended the controversial January 10 event.
After the arrest of the Dhalasamanta brothers, Cuttack Nagar Yuvak Sangha was dismantled. PNN
