Abhijit Iyer-Mitra apologises to Odisha House Committee assessing breach of privilege

Last month, Odisha Assembly Speaker Pradeep Amat approved constitution of a special committee to probe if Iyer-Mitra’s alleged derogatory remarks on MLAs amount to a breach of privilege. The committee is chaired by Leader of Opposition Mishra and includes K V Singh Deo, Debi Mishra, Pramilla Mallick, Arun Sahoo and Sanjay Das Burma.

When the committee was formed, Leader of Opposition in Assembly Narasingha Mishra told The Indian Express, “The MLAs discussed this gentleman’s (Abhijit) derogatory remarks about Konark and Puri. In retaliation, he said something like ‘all MLAs in the Odisha Legislative Assembly are idiots’. It is a way of putting pressure on MLAs so that they don’t criticise him. That amounts to breach of privilege.”

In September, Iyer-Mitra took a chopper trip across a stretch of coastal Odisha up to Konark with former BJD MP Baijayant Panda. The helicopter, flown by Panda, was seized days later over an alleged attempted landing on Chilika Lake. Police sealed the hangar where the helicopter, operated by Indian Metals and Ferro Alloys Ltd and frequently used by Panda, was kept.

Later Iyer-Mitra’s Twitter account was discovered to have videos and statements on the Sun temple at Konark and on Odisha’s origins. Some of the statements were seen as deeply offensive and sparked protests among the public and political parties.

Iyer-Mitra had to clarify that his remarks on Odisha’s history and culture were “sarcasm” and not made in Panda’s presence. Panda has said he did not approve of the remarks but added that the views were “satirical”.

On Tuesday, Mishra told the press that Iyer-Mitra accepted all the charges against him, but the inquiry against him is not complete. “He has been asked to submit an affidavit, following which the Committee will deliberate on its recommendations to the House”, Mishra said.