Balasore: For Pratap Sarangi, the Lok Sabha member from Balasore who was the surprise pick in the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s council of ministers, luxury and opulence see-m to have little meaning.
Mr Sarangi, who was recently in the limelight after some of his photographs showing his simple and austere life went viral in social media, continues to maintain his humble lifestyle.
The moment Mr Sarangi reached his home town at Gopinathpur in Balasore district on Saturday evening after the gala swearing-in ceremony and taking charge as a Union minister, he was seen getting back to his old routine which many term the lifestyle of a common man.
It was a unique and humble gesture when Mr Sarangi went to his ‘guru’ Trilochan Sahoo and sought his blessings by touching his feet. Mr Sahoo blessed him by singing a song composed by him. Many people, not only in his village but also other parts of Odisha believed that Mr Sarangi, popularly called ‘Nilagiri Nana’ (Mr Sarangi earlier represented Nilagiri constituency in the state Assembly) would now give up his simple lifestyle and start a life just like any other politician.
Proving them wrong again, Mr Sarangi went to his village pond for a bath and then swept the premises of the nearby Shiva temple.
This has been how a day begins for this humble politician from Odisha who trounced a crorepati candidate of ruling-BJD, Rabindra Kumar Jena, in the recently concluded elections.
“I have been getting calls and praises for my simple lifestyle. But comparing me with Modi is what hurts me,” said Mr Sarangi.
“He (Pratap Sarangi) slept on the floor in his thatched house without having his food as people did not leave him till late night on Saturday” said Bilasini Panda, Mr Sarangi’s sister.
At Odisha secretariat Bhubaneswar, some unusual activities of newly-elected ministers drew the attention of many on Monday. Ministers Ranendra Pratap Swain and Padmanav Behera performed special pujas in their respective offices before starting their work.
