Bhubaneswar: The House Committee of the Odisha Assembly, which was formed to probe into alleged derogatory remarks against the state, its culture and its MLAs made by journalist Abhijit Iyer Mitra, the panel has recommended that the House should grant repentant Abhijit apology and drop the matter
Defence Analyst Iyer Mitra, who was arrested by the police for his derogatory remarks on the Sun Temple, Lord Jagannath, Odisha, the MLAs, Chief Minister and the journalists of the state following the recommendation of the House Committee.
“The House Committee in its report had recommended granting pardon to Abhijit as he has tendered an unconditional apology to the House Committee for his derogatory remarks. The report was placed before the State Assembly today and after a motion, the Assembly unanimously decided to grant pardon to him,” Mishra said.
The committee has further recommended the House to direct the State Government to “provide materials to Abhijit Iyer Mitra to educate him about the art, culture, history and the people of Odisha”.
With this move, Abhijit will be released from the Jharpada jail where he was lodged since the day of his arrest by the city based the Saheed Nagar police on October 23, just after his first appearance before the House Committee.
Notably Iyer has been cooling his heels in Jharpada jail since 1 month, till the issue heated up making National and International Headlines on sensitivity of Odisha Government for throwing mitra in jail for his sarcasm tweet
Amnesty India has come out in support of Mitra “It is absurd for the Odisha government to arrest someone for making a sarcastic comment. The Odisha government must respect Abhijit Iyer-Mitra’s right to freedom of expression and drop all charges against him.
