Odisha babus on mass leave, demand arrest of BJP's Jagannath Pradhan
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New Delhi: The mass strike called by the Odisha Administrative Service (OAS) officers has entered the third day with the OAS Association demanding the immediate arrest of BJP leader Jagannath Pradhan , who is supposed to be behind the attack on Additional Commissioner of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation , Ratnakar Sahoo."On Wednesday, we met the chief secretary and submitted our demands. Police have arrested a few people. But the main person behind the attack on the senior officer, BJP leader Jagannath Pradhan, has not been arrested," Jyoti Ranjan Mishra, president, OAS Association, told ET. "We have categorically demanded the arrest of Pradhan and public condemnation from the government acknowledging the gravity of the attack and affirming its commitment to protect government officers."Mishra says around 2,300 OAS officers, along with 1,200 officers of the Odisha Revenue Service, are currently on strike. "We have ensured that essential services and work related to the Rath Yatra should continue smoothly," he added.On June 30, Sahoo was in his office when some people approached him and started misbehaving with him. "They claimed to be the associate of Jagannath Pradhan and accused the officer of a heated talk with Pradhan in the morning on phone. They dragged him, physically abused him and even tried to kidnap him," Mishra added. "Even after video clips of the abuse went viral, Pradhan took to social media to further threaten the officer. That irked the OAS officers, and we met the CM on the same day."Pradhan contested from the Bhubaneswar Central assembly election in 2024 as a BJP candidate and lost the election by 37 votes. In total, he has lost four consecutive elections from the seat, one as an independent and three as a BJP candidate.The BJP government in the state has assured the officers that they will take action against those responsible for the attack and has appealed to them to join work.
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Of course, many of those who have political or bureaucratic linkages are also bright and competent and make it due to their competence, and not only due to their surnames.' Incidentally, on Thursday, hearing a case on the appointment of Punjab AG Maninderjit Singh Bedi, a Division Bench of the High Court held that 'you cannot succeed in the challenge to an office of Advocate General just by saying he is politically affiliated with some party… That cannot be a disqualification'. Meanwhile, in a Facebook post Thursday, Varnika Kundu, who had accused Vikas Barala of stalking and attempted abduction, said: 'Appointing someone to a public position of power is not just a political decision – it's a reflection of values and standards… Our policymakers run the country; the rest of us are just hoping they remember that they work FOR the INDIAN CITIZEN. What I will speak about is my own case – and the fact that despite months of national media attention, it has dragged on for this long with little progress… I continue to hold faith in the judiciary until the verdict is announced – but I won't deny that faith has wavered.'
