Opposition demands House Committee probe in Dana Majhi issue

Bhubaneswar: Exactly a month since Dana Majhi walked 10 km with his wife's body on his shoulder in Kalahandi district, Odisha Assembly today witnessed uproarious scenes with opposition Congress and BJP demanding a House Committee probe into the incident.

The issue was raised by Congress Chief Whip Tara Prasad Bahinipati during Zero Hour when he strongly criticised state Health and Family Welfare Minister Atanu S Nayak's statement in the House on Friday.

"It is unfortunate that the minister said Majhi took away his wife's body without informing the hospital authorities at Bhawanipatna," Bahinipati said.

Alleging that the minister had "misled" the House by saying that Majhi "left the hospital against medical advice," Bahinipati said the entire episode should be thoroughly probed by the Assembly House Committee.

"The minister is saying that Majhi left the hospital on his own but I have information that it took him around two hours to wrap his wife's body in a cloth. The hospital could have given a hearse van for transporting his wife's body," the Congress leader said.

Leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra, who had visited the hospital at Bhawanipatna, alleged that the Chief District Medical Officer (CDMO) had "completely failed" in discharging his duty. "Majhi's wife was declared dead by the doctors at the TB ward. The hapless tribal man had also sought assistance from the hospital authorities," he said.

Stating that the right to dignity of a dead person had been violated by the authorities, Mishra said the incident had earned "shame and criticism" for the state.

"The state government is taking the incident lightly. The demand for a House Committee probe into the circumstances leading to Majhi carrying his wife's body is justified. A neutral inquiry into the incident could give justice to the tribal man," Mishra said.

BJP member Pradip Purohit demanded the Health Minister's resignation accusing him of "failing to give dignity to a dead body".

The Congress and BJP members sought a ruling from the Speaker for the formation of a House Committee to probe the incident. While BJP members shouted from their seats,

Bahinipati was halfway towards the Well, demanding a ruling from the chair.

Dana Majhi, on August 24, hit the headlines after he carried his wife's body on his shoulder for 10 kilometres, accompanied by his 12-year-old daughter, after being allegedly denied a hearse by the hospital authorities.

In his reply, Nayak said that his statement in the House yesterday was based on a preliminary report. "We are waiting for a detail report. Action will be taken against those found responsible for the incident. I have never held Majhi responsible," the minister said.

Meanwhile, Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan also criticised Nayak's statement saying, "The minister's statement has revealed the true colour of the ruling system in the state."

Pradhan said on social media, "What kind of good governance model the Government is talking about when it said Dana Majhi was not provided ambulance just because he had not sought ambulance or hearse from any hospital?"

Stating that the state government had "washed its hands off" by submitting the report of Kalahandi District Headquarters Hospital (DHH) in the House, Pradhan alleged that it had held Majhi responsible for the unpleasant incident.

The minister, in his statement yesterday in the Assembly, had said that Majhi had "never sought any help" before leaving the district headquarters hospital at Bhawanipatna.

"Holding a contractual staff nurse, Rajendra Rana, responsible for the incident, the government has dismissed him from service. Similarly, the security agency at the hospital at Bhawanipatna has also been disengaged," Nayak had said.