I’ll continue in Congress, says ‘truant’ MLA Shivaji Majhi

The Pioneer, Nov 1, 2010
PNS. BHAWANIPATNA

Lanjigarh MLA Shivaji Majhi, who had hogged the headlines for his conspicuous absence during the Rajya Sabha polls in the State on Friday told mediapersons confidently at Malijubang near his village Bijepur that he still continues in the Congress party and would also work for it in future.

Even after six-months of the Rajya Sabha elections, Shivaji reiterated that he has not yet been told anything on his ‘mysterious absence’ by his political guru Bhakta Charan Das (incumbent local MP) and other Congress leaders despite having attended many local meetings with them in the last couple of months.

Shivaji also claimed that he has not yet received any explanation from the Congress high command, but maintained that he himself has submitted documents relating to his health problems then.

Majhi, who reportedly abstained from the Upper House polls, had triggered flutter then in Odisha Congress history and an FIR was also lodged by Kalahandi Congress MP Bhakta Charan Das at Kharabela Nagar PS in Bhubaneswar and another missing report was lodged by his wife Rupa at Lanjigarh police station the subsequent day.

Bhakta had complained that Shivaji had been abducted and later on, he was found admitted to a hospital in the State capital after two days. Shivaji could not even answer smartly to the media then after returning to his own village when he was asked why he and his associates did not inform Kalahandi MP and other Congress party leaders when he was admitted to the hospital on the election day.

After a studied silence, he had defended then that he was not in a position to inform someone since he was unconscious then.

However, Shivaji now maintains that he has not yet been pressurised by any Congress leaders to resign from the party and as he is fine now to attend the next Assembly session.