State Minister for small and medium enterprises and senior Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader Jogendra Behera, on Monday, asked his personal security officer (PSO) to tie his sandal straps during a flag hoisting in Keonjhar. Behera, who was present to hoist the flag in Keonjhar on the eve of India’s 70th Independence Day. The PSO was asked to bend down to unstrap his sandals and later strap them in the presence of thousands of people and numerous TV cameras. When asked about the embarrassing incident, Behera initially told the media that he was a VIP and the PSO had done it on his own.
He later clarified that the PSO was helping him, due to his ailments in the knee. he added that he was being treated at AIIMS and would show prescriptions if required. The political community in the state has condemned the incident and called it a shameful one. Sajjan Sharma, BJP spokesperson from Odisha said that the Naveen Patnaik-led administration does not see any difference between professional and personal staff. He opined that the state ministers think of Odisha as their fiefdom.
Senior lawyer Biraja Mishra said that this act by the minister had brought the British Raj back to the country. He termed the act shameful, reminding of the struggles our freedom fighters had gone through, 70 years ago. Earlier in the morning, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had committed a blunder during his Independence Day address to the state, when he had referred to legendary lawyer Madhusudan Das as a freedom fighter.