Samaja finds Manubhai unworthy of editorial obituary

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak
Manubhai Patel alleged to have grabbed presidential chair of Servants of the People Society, which allegation he could not legally refute till his death yesterday, is found unworthy of editorial obituary in Samaja, the paper of Orissa that SoPS has illegally occupied by using a forged Will of Pt. Gopabandhu Das, its forefront founder.

The front page of Samaja has carried in its edition of today the news of Manubhai’s death. Had he been a legitimate President of SoPS, which even the paper under his occupation projected, the editorial column could have gone blank in his honor or the paper could have paid respect to him with an editorial obituary. But today’s Samaja editorial is an obituary on India’s lost hope in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.

If this is not noteworthy, what else is, in Orissa today?

A former editor Radhanath Rath, whose forgery helped SoPS to occupy Samaja, had put it on records that Manubhai had taken huge amount of money from the Samaja funds to use in his electioneering with assurance to return the same after elections and despite several reminders, he had not returned the money.

Danda Nirodh Mishra, a former IAS whom Manubhai in his previous avatar as SoPS President had appointed as General Manager of Samaja, has informed the Police Chief at the call of his conscience that the amount of Rs.96 lakhs which he had told the police in FIR to have been misappropriated by Brajabhai and others, was actually misappropriated by Manubhai and in a letter he had confronted Manubhai with the swindling he had made, which, if disclosed, may put him to jail.

Many more such acts of money swindling from the Samaja funds by Manubhai Patel is known to the insiders of the Samaja.

Perhaps, therefore, their collective conscience has refused the editorial obituary in his honor.