Balasore: Tourism and Culture Minister Jyoti Prakash Panigrahi landed in a soup after a video of him having chicken curry at an Ekalavya Model Residential School in Rayagada while the students had their share of usual midday meal during a visit to the school went viral on social media.
Launching a sharp attack on Panigrahi, former minister Padmalochan Panda Monday demanded that the minister should step down on moral grounds as his actions were in sharp contrast to the ‘5T’ initiative of the state government.
He warned of a mass movement against the BJD government if the Chief Minister fails to take action in this direction.
The video depicting the minister having chicken curry for lunch while the students had their usual rice and dal Wednesday led to outrage among the leaders of the Opposition parties and various sections of the society.
Speaking at a press conference here, Panda said as a block education officer was suspended on similar grounds similar action should be taken against Panigrahi.
Panigrahi’s act has brought a bad name to Balasore and has let down the residents of Simulia, Panda said.
Among others, Benumadhav Panda, senior BJP leaders Shankarshan Majhi, Sarbeshwar Behera, Manoranjan Swain, Radharaman Pattnaik, Ramesh Sahu, Nirakar Panda, Pradip Ray attended the press meet.
PNN