Odisha Congress mulls apology to voters, a la Kejriwal

Reported by Sandeep Sarangi
Bhubaneswar, Feb 12:

The Congress is seriously mulling doing an Arvind Kejriwal in Odisha.

Taking a leaf out of the new book on politics written by the Aam Admi Party (AAP) chief, who made a spectacular comeback to power by tendering an unqualified apology to Delhi voters for quitting the government just 49 days into its first term, former Nabarangpur MP Pradeep Kumar Majhi has floated the idea of an apology as the first step in its comeback trail.

For a party that is nothing if not cylical, the idea has received surprisingly enthusiastic response from most sections.

“We have to introspect to learn why people rejected us in the 2014 elections. We have already spoken to the High Command and have agreed to restructure the party from the grassroots. Even as we respect the opinion of the people, we still need to know, what is in their minds. I welcome the call and am thankful to Pradeep Majhi for bringing it up,” said Congress MLA Naba Das.

“We are going in a new direction under the leadership of new PCC President Prasad Harichandan. We are introspecting to figure out the cause of loss. Every time there is a Congress government, it tries to bring in people friendly schemes and policies. However, we still need to figure out where we went wrong,” said Chief Whip of Congress in Odisha Assembly Tara Prasad Bahinipati.

“It must be his personal opinion. There needs to be a discussion on what went wrong. If we have made any mistake, there is no shame in apologising. Also, it is important to learn the mood of the people. Our plans and programs should be designed as per their opinion,” said Chiranjib Biswal, Deputy Chief Whip of the Congress.

Senior leader Lalatendu Bidyadhar Mohapatra, while supporting the call, spelt out who excatly in the party needs to apologise.

“If there have been mistakes, of course an apology is due. But who will apologis? Obviously, those who were in the helm of affairs in the party and the government,” said a bitter sounding Mohapatra.

Just about the only discordant note came from former Mahila Congress president Bijaylaxmi  Sahu, who said; “It is his personal opinion. I don’t think there is any need for an apology.”

In a post on on micro-blogging site Twitter after the victory of AAP in Delhi polls, Majhi had said; “Request every Congress leader to write five postcards to Congress supporters in villages apologising and seeking suggestions from them every month,”