Bhubaneswar: While condolences are pouring in from all quarters on the sad and untimely demise of Congress leader Lalatendu (Lulu) Bidyadhar Mohapatra, his party colleague the opposition chief whip Tara Prasad Bahinipati today came out in the open about the neglect and disrespect meted out to the departed leader by his own party.
According to Tara, Lulu was in mental distress over his lack of importance within the party. Lulu’s last wish of carrying out a mass rally of students against the State government remained unfulfilled, as on the scheduled day of the rally the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) organized another meeting at the Congress Bhawan. Echoing similar feelings, other senior leaders also agree that Lulu was never given a position in the party despite being a deft organiser.
“The truth is that Lulu was never given importance at the right time. He died of depression. He himself told me that it was a great regret that he could not organize a massive students rally. Injustice has been done to Lulu,” said Tara.
“Lulu has sacrificed a lot for the party which could have done more for him,” said AICC general secretary and former Union minister Bhakta Charan Das.
Beginning his career from student politics, Lulu has been a chief strategist of the party for 33 long years. However, after his accident, he had to lose the youth Congress president’s post. Some of his protégés who were at the helm of student and youth wings of the party also acknowledge the neglect towards Lulu for which they parted ways with the party.
“The way the party sidelined a leader like him it weakened the organization and the youth and student leaders parted ways with the party and moved elsewhere,” said leader, BJD’s student wing, Chinmaya Sahoo.
“While discussing with me, Lulu told that he underwent 4 big operations but what was even more painful was the fact that he was removed from the post of Youth Congress while he was in the operation theatre,” said his closest rival and minister Sanjay Dasburma.
On the other hand, the party believes that he was given due importance.
“He has always worked with the party as a factor. The party has involved him in all the decisions it had taken,” said PCC spokesperson, Lalatendu Mohapatra.
Even after his death the litany of neglect towards him has not ended. The opposition chief whip has raised questions over the absence of the Speaker of the House, Deputy Speaker and the Government Chief Whip while a guard of honour was presented to his mortal remains in the State Assembly premises. To these allegations, the government chief whip responded saying he had no information about the program.