Union Minister of State for Tribal Affairs and Jal Shakti Bisweshwar Tudu on Sunday rapped the Odisha government over the suspension of Bharati Singh, a bank mitra and member of Self Help Group (SHG) from Khunta block in Mayurbhanj district.
Bharati was recently placed under suspension for allegedly speaking against the State government and 5T Secretary during a rally in Bhubaneswar.
On September 11, Bharati along with other members had come to Bhubaneswar for a rally and allegedly spoke against the 5T Secretary VK Pandian and the governance system. After her statements went viral on social media, she has been allegedly suspended from the job.
Following the development, Tudu criticised the Odisha government and termed Bharati's suspension ' illegal'.
“Bharati Singh is a tribal lady. Coming from a woman Self Help Group, she was working as a bank mitra for several days. Under such circumstances, she raised her voice for her and other bank mitras. However, she has been suspended from her job illegally,” said Tudu.
“Earlier East India Company was ruling, but now the State is being ruled by East Tamil governance. In a democratic country, everybody has the right to speech. However, those who are raising their voices for their own rights, they are being threatened. As a result, a poor tribal lady has been suspended from her job. It is not a good sign for the democracy. In coming days, BJD will pay a heavy price for it like the Kauravas who got destroyed for insulting women,” the Union Minister added.
Meanwhile, BJD MLA Rajkishore Das counter-attacked Tudu over his allegation.
“Bisweshwar Tudu has no moral right to bring this kind of allegations. Has he ever reviewed his own behavior? The way he often behaves with the employees, clerks, and various officials, he needs to review his own behaviour first before pointing fingers at others. He can’t advise others over the matter, rather he should find his own faults and rectify those,” said Das.