The wrong, exaggerated and humiliating facts given on late Chief Minister Biju Patnaik in the ‘Utkal Prasanga’ magazine’s February, March and April issues in 2016 are being analysed and the experts assigned to probe have not given their opinion or submitted report to the State Government.
Information and Public Relations Minister Pratap Jena told this to the State Assembly on Tuesday while replying to a question by BJP member Dilip Ray.
Ray asked what steps the State Government had taken on the inquiry into the wrong information given on Bijubabu in the Utkal Prasanga issues in early 2016. Minister Jena said that two experts, Prof Surya Narayan Mishra and Brajmohan Mohanty, have been assigned to probe the alleged wrong information on Bijubabu in the articles in the Utkal Prasang magazine which were published in the wake of the birth centenary celebrations of the former CM.
However, the experts have neither given their opinions on the issue nor submitted the report to the State Government. After the report is received, the Government would take appropriate steps, assured the Minister.
Notably, the Government’s Information and Public Relations Department- run magazine, Utkal Prasanga had published articles in the early 2016 where in it was stated that Bijubabu had broken his hand while jumping off jail, tried to print fake currency notes, jumped into river while on board a boat along with Utkalamani Gopabandhu Das to fish out Das’ umbrella while out on a relief mission, and his head was smashed in police lathi while Bijubabu had come to a meeting place to see Gandhiji and later Gandhiji had taunted police, etc. The information was alleged to be wrong and amid an uproar, the State Government had assigned experts to probe the case.