Bhubaneswar: In a damage control exercise, the Government of Odisha has ordered a probe on a state government booklet describing Mahatma Gandhi’s death as an “accident”.
Speaking to media persons, School and Mass Education Minister Samir Ranjan Dash said, “”The government has taken the matter very seriously. Whoever has done it would be taken to task. The death of Mahatma should have been clearly mentioned the way he was killed. It should have been elaborated clearly how he was killed.”
The two-page booklet “Aama Bapuji: Eka Jhalaka” (Our Bapuji: A Glimpse) — published by the state government on the occasion of 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi — presents a brief account of his teachings, works and links with Odisha, while also stating that he “died due to accidental reasons in a sudden sequence of events on January 30, 1948 at Delhi’s Birla House”.
Yesterday, Congress legislature party leader Narasingh Mishra demanded an apology from Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik holding him responsible for the blunder.
“This is deplorable. I hold the Chief Minister responsible for this. He should beg an apology to the people. If he has knowingly done it, I demand his resignation. People of the country can never excuse him,” said Mishra in the Assembly.
Since some Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders are describing Nathuram Godse, who assassinated Gandhi, as God, it seems the BJD is influenced by the ideology, said Mishra.
He slammed both the BJP and BJD saying that both are two sides of the same coin.
Echoing similar sentiments, CPI state secretary Asish Kanungo alleged that the move was part of a conspiracy hatched by the state to twist history and hide the truth.
“Everyone knows that Nathuram Godse killed Gandhiji, following which he was apprehended, tried and sentenced to death. The children should be told the truth and the booklet immediately withdrawn,” Kanungo said.
BJD MLA Soumya Ranjan Patnaik also condemned the misrepresentation of the way the Mahatma was assassinated.
He said it is conspiracy to recreate history and all should condemn by rising above political consideration, said Patnaik.
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Kalinga AI