Abhijit Iyer Mitra Apologises Again For Derogatory Remarks

Bhawanipatna: A week after tendering an apology to the Speaker of the Odisha Assembly for his derogatory remarks on Odisha, the Sun Temple at Konark and Lord Jagannath, journalist Abhijit Iyer Mitra has again apologised to the people of Odisha.

“I am extremely sorry if my statement has hurt someone. I have a very high regard for Odisha, which has a major contribution to the pristine culture of the country,” Abhijit told ANI on Wednesday.

Stating that he uses his Twitter account just for fun, Abhijit said the fun on such issues is never right and this is what he has learnt following the incident that took place later.

Asked about the directive of the House Committee of the State Assembly, which has asked him to appear in person on October 23, he said he will arrive in Odisha on October 22 and appear before the House Committee on the next day.

On his acquaintance with the former Kendrapara MP Baijayant Panda, Abhijit said though he has met him twice, he has no friendship with him.

He also maintained that he had not gone with Panda on a tour to the Sun Temple at Konark.

It may be recalled that the formation of a House Committee was decided at the all-party meeting convened by the Speaker Pradip Kumar Amat on the last day of the Monsoon session of the State Assembly on September 20. The members, cutting across party lines had vehemently protested and criticised the outrageous statement of Abhijit on Odisha, Lord Jagannath and the Chief Minister during the privilege motion moved by the Congress.

The Committee led by the Leader of the Opposition Narasingha Mishra as the chairperson with Debi Prasad Mishra, K. V. Singhdeo, Pramila Mallick, Arun Sahu and Sanjay Dasburma as other members, will submit its report on the first day of the next session of the State Assembly.

The House Committee on September 28 had asked Abhijit to appear in person on October 11. Instead of appearing in person. According to reports, Abhijit tendered his apology in an e-mail to the Speaker through the secretary of the State Assembly.

Informing the media about Abhijit’s absence, chairperson of the House Committee, Narasingh Mishra had said since the former could not appear in person due to the cyclonic storm, the House Committee has not considered his absence as a violation of its order. But the House Committee has decided to summon him to appear in person at 11 am on October 23 for which the Director General of Police (DGP) will serve him a notice very soon.