Odisha Renames Kandhamal Medical College After Swami Laxmanananda; Left Parties Oppose Move
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi announced the decision on Monday, describing it as a tribute to Saraswati's contribution to tribal welfare and education: Reports
BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha government has decided to rename the Government Medical College and Hospital at Phulbani in Kandhamal district after slain Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, triggering sharp criticism from Left parties, which warned that the move could revive communal tensions in the region.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi announced the decision on Monday, describing it as a tribute to Saraswati's contribution to tribal welfare and education during his decades-long work in Kandhamal.
The government also sanctioned Rs 13 crore from the Chief Minister's Special Assistance Fund for the development of the Jalespata Ashram, its school and girls' hostel. The package includes Rs 5 crore for a 300-seat girls' hostel, Rs 3 crore for conservation and development of the ashram, Rs 60 lakh for a river-lift water supply project, and funds for classrooms, hostel buildings, toilets, boundary walls and renovation of existing infrastructure.
Saraswati was shot dead by armed assailants at the Jalespata Ashram on August 23, 2008, along with four associates. His killing triggered one of Odisha's worst episodes of communal violence, leaving at least 39 people dead, hundreds of churches damaged or destroyed, and leading to around 800 criminal cases.
On Tuesday, the CPI(M), CPI, CPI(ML)-Liberation and the All India Forward Bloc jointly opposed the government's decision, arguing that a public medical institution should bear the name of a personality who commands universal respect and symbolises humanity, social harmony and public service.
CPI(M) state secretary Suresh Panigrahi said naming the institution after Saraswati could reopen painful memories of communal conflict and undermine Odisha's secular ethos. The Left parties also questioned the Rs 13-crore grant to the ashram, alleging that public funds should not be used to promote any ideological or communal agenda.
Instead, they urged the government to name the institution after tribal freedom fighter Chakra Bisoyi, who led the Kandha community in a prolonged guerrilla struggle against British rule in the Ghumusar-Kandhamal region and remains a revered figure in Odisha's freedom movement.
