Bhubaneswar: The Commissionerate Police on Sunday said that they are ready to provide adequate protection to Abhijit Iyer Mitra, who is scheduled to appear before the House Committee of the State Assembly on Tuesday in connection with his derogatory remarks on Sun Temple at Konark, Lord Jagannath and Odisha.
“If Abhijit wants protection and informs us about his tour schedule, the Commissionerate Police will provide the necessary protection to him,” Police Commissioner Satyajit Mohanty told mediapersons here.
The House Committee on September 28 had asked Abhijit to appear in person on October 11. Instead of appearing in person, Abhijit had tendered an apology through an e-mail to the Speaker through the secretary of the State Assembly.
Talking to ANI a week later on October 17, he had again apologised to the people of Odisha.
“I am extremely sorry if my statement has hurt someone. I have very high regards for Odisha, which has a major contribution to the pristine culture of the country,” Abhijit had said.
Stating that he uses his Twitter account just for fun, he said cracking jokes on such issues are never right and this is what he has learnt following this incident.
Asked about the directive of the House Committee of the State Assembly, which had asked him to appear in person on October 23, Abhijit said he will reach Odisha on October 22 and appear before the House Committee the following day.
On his acquaintance with the former Kendrapara MP Baijayant Panda, the research scholar said though he had met him twice, they were not friends.
However, he admitted having accompanied Baijayant on a tour to the Sun Temple at Konark.
A decision to form a House Committee was taken at the all-party meeting convened by Speaker Pradip Kumar Amat on the last day of the Monsoon session of the State Assembly on September 20 after members, cutting across party lines, had vehemently protested and criticised the outrageous statement of Abhijit during the privilege motion moved by the Congress.
The Committee led by the Leader of the Opposition Narasingha Mishra as the chairperson with Debi Prasad Mishra, KV Singhdeo, Pramila Mallick, Arun Sahu and Sanjay Dasburma as other members, will submit its report on the first day of the next session of the State Assembly.
