No Takers For Tall Talks in Jajpur District

Bhubaneswar (Surjit Kumar Dhal): Pranab Prakash Das, once considered the ‘Chanakya’ in BJD has failed to impress people in Jajpur district and his assertions are being termed as tall talks. At a recent meeting in the district, Das alias Bobby boasted about his desire to serve the people of the district afresh which evoked little enthusiasm among the people.

Bobby, during the course of his speech, claimed that he would commit thousand sins if his work in the district during his tenure as a MLA are considered sins. He also claimed that he was ready to go to jail for the sake of the people’ interest.
“I would not mind going to jail for four years. The government can send me to jail if it thinks I have committed any crime. I am son of Ashok Das who was jailed for 29 months during the Emergency era. I am not afraid to go to jail for four years,” he boasted at a meeting.

However, several people in the district said that his assertions are only tall talks. “How does he know his crimes invite punishment for four years only. It could be four days, four weeks or four months also,” they said. They said with such utterances Bobby has only confirmed that he has committed crimes which are liable for punishment.

Bobby’s claim that the media was keen to report negative stories on him to grab TRP has also not been approved by the sensible people. “Why would the media run after him. He is a fallen hero. But certainly if he has committed any crime the media would report,” these people said. “The media has been hounding me for the past four months. It is getting me suspended from the party or sidelined. I don’t know why,” the BJD leader had said.

Several others felt that Bobby is eying to contest a by-election getting the seat vacated by the sitting MLA. In order to achieve that goal he is trying to convince the people and woo them. But a by-election is out of question at the present moment as the local MLA Sujata Sahoo has clearly indicated her intentions not to quit the seat. “May be Bobby is feeling like a fish out of water without power,” said an elderly person.

According to locals, Bobby has lost the affection of the people in the district for his arrogant behavior during his tenure as BJD Organisation Secretary. “Fielding his mother from Korei Assembly constituency during the polls was the biggest blunder Bobby committed. His mother was revered in the district being the wife of State’s one of the most respected leaders. She was never in politics. Bobby threw her into electoral politics for his own political interests,” said several knowledgeable persons. They said Bobby attempted to secure seat as he was unsure about success in Sambalpur. Bobby’s claim that he brought in a lot of institutions to the district through the blessings of former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik too evoked lukewarm response.

“Yes several projects came to the district. But were the efforts of Bobby honest,” asked them while pointing to the controversial Kusuma project. When more projects come, the amount of commission is more, said another elderly person on condition of anonymity.

The bluffs of Das have been called. He lost all his credibility the day he acted as a gatekeeper at the venues where VK Pandian held meetings – both as CMO and BJD leader after qutting IAS, said several people in their reaction to the videos in social media.