Bhubaneswar: Senior BJD leader and Agriculture Minister Pradeep Maharathy on Sunday resigned from Naveen Patnaik ministry on moral grounds.
The opposition have been baying for his blood since his controversial statement following the acquittal of two brothers in the Pipili gang rape and murder case. Prime Minister Narendra Modi too had slammed the state government for failing to provide justice to the girl during his Baripada rally on Saturday.
With the BJD wooing the women voters with Mission Shakti convention and women quota ahead of the ensuing Assembly and Lok Sabha elections, the case was also hurting the party image and that of the Chief Minister.
This is for the second time that Maharathy lost the ministership over the same case. The then first-time minister, who was sworn in May 2011, had to step down on January 19, 2012, “to ensure that the image of his leader and party remained unsullied” ahead of the Panchayat polls, having been in the line of fire for providing shelter to the accused.
On December 25 last year, Maharathy again invited trouble for him by asserting that truth had finally prevailed and the victim girl got justice, after the acquittal of the two accused by the Additional District Judge (ADJ) court.
Taking strong exception to the atrocious statement of Maharathy, the Opposition Congress and BJP had demanded his immediate ouster and sought an unconditional apology from him.
The activists of the Odisha Pradesh Mahila Congress had staged a protest demonstration in front of the official residence of the minister and scuffled with the police while trying to barge into his residence. They had also hurled tomatoes and eggs at his residence.
The activists had also demonstrated in front the Naveen Niwas, the residence of the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik demanding the immediate sacking of the minister.
On this issue, the BJP had also come down heavily on the Chief Minister for protecting Maharathy and having no concern towards the women and the Dalits. The saffron party, demanding immediate ouster of Maharathy from the ministry, had taken out a weeklong candle rally in all urban areas of the state.
His apology on December 28, however, cut no ice with the opposition as they continued with their demand, besides a fresh probe into the case.
Maharathy could not be contacted for comments as his phone was switched off.
