Bhubaneswar: The BJD MLAs in Odisha Assembly on Monday must have pinched themselves once when a virulent critic of the Odisha government heaped praises on its 5T initiative and expressed gratitude to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for Saheed Laxman Nayak Medical College and Hospital in Koraput.
Here, we are talking about Congress leader and Jeypore MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati, who has a knack for turning the spotlight on him with his antics and utterances. “The health services in Koraput district have improved a lot following the visit of Secretary to Chief Minister (Transformation and Initiatives) VK Pandian recently,” he told the assembly.
A laud from the most unusual quarter or did it hint at the changing political dynamics in the state?
With the establishment of the Saheed Laxman Nayak Medical College and Hospital, poor and tribals in Koraput now have access to health services, Bahinipati said, adding that it has benefitted four other districts as well and people no longer have to travel to Visakhapatnam.
To improve services in the medical college and hospitals, he even suggested another visit by the 5T secretary to the district.
To his queries on vacant doctor posts, Health Minister Nabakishore Das said that Koraput was a priority district for the Chief Minister. The Minister assured him that the vacant posts would be filled up soon and that he would convey his suggestion to the 5T Secretary.
The Congress MLA is known for stalling the House by storming the well and providing the right bytes to media, raking up a controversy. Be it his remark, “Sir, Apana Kushi Ta”, on seeing Naveen entering the House or a flying kiss to the Speaker for allowing him to speak first among 147 members, he has been able to grab headlines during this session of the assembly.
