BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday strongly condemned the killing of Jagabandhu Majhi in Nabarangpur district. This is for the first time a sitting BJD MLA has been gunned down by assailants in a Maoist-dominated area of the State.Terming the killing as ‘brutal and savage’, the Chief Minister said the MLA was disabled and had been confined to a wheelchair. Majhi, a first-time MLA, had been confined to a wheelchair since he was attacked by unidentified people in 2004. Though the identity of the assailants is yet to be ascertained, the involvement of Maoists is being suspected as the site is close to Maoist-hit areas of Chhattisgarh. Majhi had been attacked several times in the past.He was a prominent tribal leader in the area and instrumental in bringing them to the BJD fold in the last elections. A shocked Chief Minister convened a high- level meeting to take stock of the situation after the killing.Describing him as an up-and-coming youth leader, Speaker Pradip Amat said despite health constraints he worked for the people of the constituency. Several senior ministers also mourned Majhi. In his death, the Nabarangpur district lost a capable youth leader, Finance Minister Prafulla Chandra Ghadei said. Forest and Environment Minister Debi Prasad Mishra said he had a large following among the SC/ST people of the area. Agriculture Minister Pradip Maharathi said Majhi had launched many developmental works in his backward constituency.Steel and Mines Minister Raghunath Mohanty, Health and Family Welfare Minister Prasanna Acharya, Rural Development Minister Bikram Arukh, Revenue and Disaster Management Minister S N Patro, Minister for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Welfare Lalbihari Himirika and Panchayati Raj Minister Maheswar Mohanty condemned the killing.
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