Odisha CM Mohan Charan Majhi
Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Friday recalled a past incident when a police inspector asked him to “get out” of the police station. Majhi made this comment after inaugurating the two-day Collector’s Conference at Lok Seva Bhawan here. Referring to the incidents that took place barely four months before he became the Chief Minister, Majhi said that the residents of Raisuan and Gopinathpur Panchayat in Keonjhar constituency had protested on May 2 over the drinking water crisis by blocking National Highway-20 and at that time Odisha Elections were going on.
Majhi assured them that he would raise their concerns with the executive engineer of the department. However, when the then inspector in-charge Trinath Sethi invited the protesters to the police station, they questioned Majhi’s presence there, ignoring his role as an MLA.
Inspector forgiven after becoming Chief Minister
Majhi said, “The inspector questioned my presence in the police station, saying that the model code of conduct was in force and told me to ‘get out’, otherwise he would arrest me.” He asked, “Is an MLA “Whoever the candidate is, can’t go to the police station to raise people’s problems?” Feeling insulted, Majhi staged a protest outside the police station demanding accountability for the police inspector’s actions. “Thanks to the blessings of Lord Jagannath, I became the chief minister,” Majhi said. I could only imagine the inspector’s condition after that. I forgave him, recognizing that he might have acted under pressure.
He stressed that police stations should treat citizens appropriately. Majhi said that when people come to lodge complaints, they should be taken seriously and senior officials should be instructed to look into it.
When the collector insulted Draupadi Murmu
He cited an example involving President Draupadi Murmu, who faced an insult from a district collector while serving as a minister during a meeting in Keonjhar two decades ago. Majhi also recalled another incident involving President Murmu when she was a minister in the BJD-BJP coalition government. The District Collector, during a visit to a place by a Union Minister, greeted only the Union Minister. “The officer did not even apologize for not greeting him (Murmu),” Majhi said, urging officials to change these practices and promote a culture of respect and accountability within government institutions. (with language inputs)
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