Bhubaneswar: Senior BJD leader Prasanna Acharya surprised his colleagues both in power and in opposition with a spirited defence of Chief Minister Mohan Majhi on Saturday.
“Tribals are simple people. The CM speaks his mind clearly. Therefore, I would request everyone not to misunderstand him or troll him,” the deputy leader of Opposition in the Assembly told reporters.
People have been making unrealistic comparisons between Majhi, who was a surprise pick of the BJP for the CM post after the party pulled off a major upset in the Assembly elections, pocketing 78 of the 147 seats, and his predecessor Naveen Patnaik, who ruled the state for over 24 years.
However, recently he again found himself in midsts of a racial storm over his alleged remarks on the skin colour of tribal women. “I always wanted to marry a fair girl. But tribal girls are not fair. So in this way I was linked with Mayurbhanj district as I married a girl from there,” he was heard saying in a video footage while addressing the ‘Mayurbhanj Utsav’.
Internet users also cracked jokes on his interaction with India Captain Rohit Sharma after the Men in Blue won the 2nd ODI at Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on February 9.
In the past too, the CM was heavily trolled on social media for combing his hair in public to be ‘photo ready’ and for enquiring whether the food was ready at an event while addressing a gathering.
The BJD has also been sharing posts, highlighting the alleged blunders his makes in his speeches.