Oppn demands minister’s head over Daringibadi incident

Bhubaneswar: Targeting the state government over the Daringbadi incident wherein a minor girl gave birth to a baby in a tribal hospital, opposition Congress and BJP Monday demanded the resignation of SC and ST Development Minister Ramesh Majhi on moral grounds.
Speaking to the media here, Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Niranjan Patnaik said, “A Class VIII girl student gave birth to a child in a hostel at Daringbadi of Phulbani district. What a shame. Many such incidents have happened during this government’s regime. This is a clear reflection of failure of government in every sphere.”
He demanded the resignation of the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Majhi immediately owning their respective moral responsibilities.
Similarly, the state unit of the BJP also demanded the resignation of the ST and SC Development Minister over the issue and submitted a memorandum to Governor Ganeshi Lal in this regard.
“The then SC and ST Development Minister had informed the Assembly March 24, 2017 that regular health check-up of the intimates were done by health workers (ANMs) and a circular was also been issued to this effect. However, the order has been grossly violated,” Naik told the media.
For proper monitoring and supervision of the department, the government should have appointed an IAS officer. On the contrary, an IFS officer R Raghu Prasad has been placed as secretary of the department, the BJP leader said.
The BJP also questioned the engagement of Deepa Prasad, whose organisation has been given the responsibly of supervising the health of the students staying in residential schools run by the department.
“The minister cannot step back from his responsibilities by just suspending some employees. He (minister) himself should resign and the secretary should be suspended,” the BJP leader demanded.
Reacting on the issue, Ramesh Majhi said, “We are treating the issue with utmost attention. Six persons have been dismissed and four others have been suspended in connection with the incident. School children are the government’s topmost priority. So, arrangements are being made to install CCTV cameras in as many as 1,000 hostels giving priority to girls’ hostels.