'Spiritual Possession' Of Odisha MLA During Samba Dashami Rituals Raises Eyebrows

Angul: At a time when the Odisha government is encouraging use of technology through 5T model of governance to spur development, video of a ruling party MLA found to be “spiritually possessed” during Samba Dashami celebrations has raised questions.

The incident took place at Ambasarmunda village of Angul district where Athmallick MLA Ravi Sai was invited as chief guest by the members of Gond community who were organising special puja on the occasion of Samba Dashami.

During the event, while walking on the road along with his associates, Rai suddenly started to shiver and behaved weirdly. Supposing that he was possessed by some godly spirit, locals started to worship him by offering flowers.

The matter came to the fore after a video of the incident went viral on social media platforms.

The incident sparked criticism from various corners. Speaking on the incident, rationalist Debendra Sutar said, “It seems like a public stunt and an act by the MLA to gain attention of people.”

Before plunging into politics, the Athmallick MLA reportedly served as an administrator and engineer.