**Bhubaneswar: ** While Odisha’s neighbour Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh is already in controversy following the ongoing Mahanadi water dispute, his statement on ex-Odisha MP Kishen Patnaik mistaking his identity as slain Naxal leader Kishenji alias M. Koteswar Rao has sparked off yet another controversy.
The Chhattisgarh CM has reportedly expressed shock over reported glorification of the Naxal leader in the NCERT book prescribed for CBSE schools.
In his media reactions recently, Raman Singh is quoted to have said, “We have so many luminaries in various fields who continue to inspire the society. It is a regrettable matter that a chapter is devoted on a Naxal leader.”
However, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has, meanwhile, reportedly clarified that the Kishenji referred to in Standard X Social Science textbook ‘Democratic Politics-II’ is not the Naxalite, but a former Lok Sabha MP from Sambalpur in Odisha, Kishen Patnaik.
NCERT has reportedly further clarified that the content given on page 76 will be reviewed before the next reprint edition. The book was printed in March 2007 first and the last reprint was in January this year (2017).
The subject mentioned on the page number 76 of the book has also described how his leadership was hailed by activists.
The CBSE book is included in the course study of Class 10 at Kendriya Vidyalayas and Navodyaya schools run by the Central Government and many private schools.
Notably, Naxal leader M. Koteswar Rao alias Kishenji got killed in West Bengal on September 26, 2011 in an encounter with security forces. He was claimed to be the mentor of revolution being carried out by different organisations to ensure rights of “jal, jungle and zameen” (water, forest and land) to local tribals.
Slain Naxal leader Kishenji, who was also wanted in several states, carried a total bounty of Rs 1.50 crore on his head.
In his reactions, Cooperation & Food Supplies Minister Surya Narayan Patro remarked, “If Raman Singh is saying like that he is telling lie. So far the best of my knowledge is concerned, Kishan Patnaik was a farmer leader of western Odisha. He is a great man! He was a very big socialist leader. He earns laurels for having worked for the people of that region.”
BJD spokesperson and Junagarh MLA (Kalahandi) Dibya Shankar Mishra burst, “Kishan Patnaik is in no way akin to Kishenji. Whoever is resorting to such a comparison is wrong. Kishan Patnaik is a former MP of Odisha. He was the leader of the labourforce, the poor and the oppressed lot. He is adored a lot by the people of Odisha.”
