Abhijit to appear before House Committee on Nov 2

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Assembly House Committee today directed Abhijit Iyer-Mitra to submit affidavit and appear before it again on November 2. Iyer-Mitra was accused of making derogatory remarks against Odisha, its places of worship and the lawmakers. Iyer-Mitra today appeared before the six-member House Committee and sought apology. However, the House Committee asked him to submit affidavit and appear before it again on November 2. He was accused of making derogatory remarks against Odisha, its places of worship and the lawmakers, despite he apologised for his ‘unpardonable offence’. He had come to Odisha on September 15. After touring Puri, Konark and Chilika, he allegedly posted derogatory remarks on social media insulting the State, its culture and tradition and the lawmakers. He was arrested by Odisha police, with help of Delhi police, on September 20 on the charge of outraging religious sentiments of the people. A Delhi court later granted him bail on a bond of Rs 1 lakh and directed him to join the investigation at Konark police station by September 28. Recently, the Supreme Court denied him bail. The House panel, with BJD MLAs Debi Prasad Mishra, Pramila Mallick, Arun Sahoo, Sanjay Dasburma and BJP legislature party leader K V Singhdeo as members, was constituted on September 20 by Speaker Pradip Amat, the day Iyer Mitra was arrested.