Bhubaneswar: Breaking his silence on the allegations against him the murder of school teacher Mamita Meher, Minister of State for Home Dibya Shankar Mishra on Friday said he has nothing to do with the ‘offence’ and would resign from his post if his complicity is proved.
Denouncing the smear campaign against him in a statement, Mishra said the malicious smear campaign by a section of the media and opposition political parties marks a new low in the political discourse of Odisha, especially where they are being used for narrow political gains at the cost of truth, empathy and sensitivity in heinous offences.
“As an MLA and ex-Air Force Officer, I have attended functions at many educational institutions. In fact, public representatives are supposed to attend functions in educational institutions. Therefore, a crime happening in any one of the institutions that I have visited as a guest for functions cannot be attributed to me,” he said.
“I would urge the opposition political parties and media, if you have an iota of evidence against me in this matter, then please take it to the police or the courts. I will not only resign from my position but will also retire from public life but don’t indulge in smear campaigns with personal political agenda,” he said.
He further said he was deeply saddened and anguished by the unfortunate death of
Mamita Meher. “I am a father and I can understand the trauma the family must be going through. My deepest condolences to the family of Mamita Meher. The guilty must be given strictest punishment as per law,” he said.
While in the Air Force before joining politics, the minister said he has learnt to sacrifice oneself but to ensure that not one civilian is hurt. “When I joined politics, I brought the same philosophy from my Air Force days.”
Stating that his family was hurt by the manner in which certain media has launched a character assassination campaign based on falsehood against him, he said they have filed criminal and civil defamation case against three media groups.
“The section of the media has also been questioning my silence. I have always believed that in sensitive heinous offences, law enforcement agencies should act in a free and fair manner so that the accused meet the ends of justice. Hence I always avoided commenting on heinous offences. But I felt the need to give a statement as this smear
campaign has been affecting my family,” he said.
