A State Government booklet describing Mahatma Gandhi’s death as an “accident” triggered a row as both Congress and ruling BJD members condemned the blunder in the State Assembly on Friday.
Congress Legislature Party Leader Narasingha Mishra demanded an apology from Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik holding him responsible for the matter.
“This is deplorable. I hold the Chief Minister responsible for this. He should apologise to the people. If he has knowingly done it, I demand his resignation. People of the country can never excuse him,” said Mishra.
The two-page booklet “Aama Bapuji: Eka Jhalaka” (Our Bapuji: A Glimpse) prepared by the School and Mass Education Department states that Mahatma Gandhi died due to accidental reasons on January 30, 1948. The brochure published on the occasion of the 150th birth anniversary of Gandhi says he died due to accidental reasons in a sudden sequence of events at Delhi’s Birla House.
“What does it mean? It means that the Odisha Government has accepted that Godse is not the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi even though he has already been hanged. This is unfortunate,” remarked Mishra.
Since some BJP leaders are describing Nathuram Godse as God, it seems the BJD is influenced by this ideology, he alleged.
Mishra slammed both the BJP and the BJD saying that both are two sides of a coin.
BJD member Soumya Ranjan Patnaik also decried the misrepresentation of the way the Mahatma was assassinated. He said it is conspiracy to recreate history and all should condemn it by rising above political considerations.
Following a discussion, Speaker Surjya Narayan Patro directed the concerned Minister to give a reply on the issue next day (Saturday).
Meanwhile, the Government has ordered a probe into the matter.
“Whoever has done it would be taken to task. The death of Mahatma Gandhi should have been clearly mentioned the way he was killed. It should have been elaborated clearly how he was killed,” School and Mass Education Minister Samir Ranjan Dash told media.