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BJD MLA Pratap Jena allegedly used derogatory language against a lady ward member of Kuhunda panchayat under the Mahanga Assembly constituency. The purported video of the incident has gone viral on various social media platforms.
The victim has been identified as Swarnalaxmi Nayak who is a ward member of Kuhunda panchayat. Though Jena is not visible in the video, sources said that his voice is pretty clear.
In the purported video, Jena can be heard saying, “If you are interested in working then work, don’t be influenced by other’s opinions. Do you think that Naveen Patnaik won’t be the Chief Minister and BJD won’t win in Mahanga. Nothing will happen by recording.”
As per reports, Jena had gone to Nayak’s home to request votes in favour of his son Ankit. However, the senior BJD leader allegedly used derogatory language against her during campaigning. President of Kundi Seba Samabaya Samiti, Akhilesh Mohanty, who was present at the time, slammed Jena for his behaviour towards the ward member by saying that such kind of behaviour is not acceptable at all.
BJD MLA Pratap Jena allegedly uses derogatory language against a woman ward member of Kuhunda panchayat under Mahanga Assembly constituency
— OTV (@otvnews) May 24, 2024
"We strongly condemn the use of such language against a woman who is also a people's representative," says a local#Odisha… pic.twitter.com/JggAddQRYx
However, what led Jena to behave in the manner in which he did was not established immediately.
Residents of the village have condemned such kind of behaviour by Jena towards a woman.
“Like other candidates, Pratap Jena had come to our village to campaign for his son ahead of the election. There was a ‘Jadava Sammilani’ at Ward No.11 of Kuhunda panchayat on that day. However, people didn’t turn up for the meeting and it was called off. As a result, Jena had to return. At that time some workers of BJD requested him to campaign in the village. During the campaigning, he went to Nayak’s house. Nayak belongs to a very good family and she was elected as a ward member unopposed. However, while requesting her to vote in favour of his son, he became very rude for some reason and used derogatory language in front of her family members. She is completely shocked over the incident,” said Mohanty.
“Incidentally, I was there during the incident. Though I don’t know the exact reason what led to the outburst by Jena, this kind of behaviour towards a woman is not acceptable,” he added.
“It is quite unfortunate that a public representative used such kind of derogatory language against a female ward member. We are shocked by the incident and we strongly condemn the behaviour of Jena,” rued Khageswar Sahu, a resident of the village.
However, no reactions were received from Jena in this regard.
