Friday, December 16, 2005
Delhi rally demands NIS in Orissa: The Pioneer
As announced earlier, Agamee Odisha on Friday staged a dharna at Jantar Mantar near Parliament Street in Delhi, with hundreds of people joining it, demanding establishment of the proposed National Institute of Science (NIS) in Orissa. Several academics and students from JNU, DU, IIT and other institutions from Delhi, lawyers, activists, professionals and MPs participated in the programme.
As many as 18 MPs of the BJP and the BJD from Orissa joined the demonstration. Among them were Jual Oram, Archana Nayak, Brajakishore Tripathy, Prasanna Patsani, Rudranarayan Pani, Prasanna Acharya, Dharmendra Pradhan, Sangeeta Singh Deo, BJ Panda, Kharabela Swain and Pramila Bohidar.
The presence of Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, the then HRD Minister who had played an instrumental role in announcing establishment of NIS in Bhubaneswar, was the highlight of the programme. He directly questioned the intention of the present HRD Minister in denying the report that the establishment of NIS was never mooted in Bhubaneswar. He said NIS must be established in Orissa, which deserves such an institution as it is a backward State in the eastern region. He also assured to raise the issue in Parliament.
Mr Brajakishore Tripathy recalled that the issue has been raised by Orissa MPs in Parliament, and they staged a walkout and sat on a dharna near the statue of Mahatma Gandhi. If the Centre still does not respond positively, they would demand adjournment of the House and draw the Prime Minister's attention to the issue. Mr Dharmendra Pradhan assured that he would raise this issue at the NDA Parliamentary Committee.
It was unanimously decided to fight for the State's cause until it is achieved. Many prominent lawyers, who participated in the dharna, promised to file a PIL on the issue in the Supreme Court, if the Centre finds an easy way from the current PIL filed in the Orissa High Court.
As many as 18 MPs of the BJP and the BJD from Orissa joined the demonstration. Among them were Jual Oram, Archana Nayak, Brajakishore Tripathy, Prasanna Patsani, Rudranarayan Pani, Prasanna Acharya, Dharmendra Pradhan, Sangeeta Singh Deo, BJ Panda, Kharabela Swain and Pramila Bohidar.
The presence of Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, the then HRD Minister who had played an instrumental role in announcing establishment of NIS in Bhubaneswar, was the highlight of the programme. He directly questioned the intention of the present HRD Minister in denying the report that the establishment of NIS was never mooted in Bhubaneswar. He said NIS must be established in Orissa, which deserves such an institution as it is a backward State in the eastern region. He also assured to raise the issue in Parliament.
Mr Brajakishore Tripathy recalled that the issue has been raised by Orissa MPs in Parliament, and they staged a walkout and sat on a dharna near the statue of Mahatma Gandhi. If the Centre still does not respond positively, they would demand adjournment of the House and draw the Prime Minister's attention to the issue. Mr Dharmendra Pradhan assured that he would raise this issue at the NDA Parliamentary Committee.
It was unanimously decided to fight for the State's cause until it is achieved. Many prominent lawyers, who participated in the dharna, promised to file a PIL on the issue in the Supreme Court, if the Centre finds an easy way from the current PIL filed in the Orissa High Court.
# posted by Digambara Patra @ 6:10 PM 
