Exam time for Orissa IT minister

Orissa's information technology minister, Ramesh Chandra Majhi, is burning the midnight oil in his native village of Dandamunda, in a bid to get through his Plus II arts examination. The 32- year- old minister, who flunked the Intermediate science examination in 1995, is appearing for the Plus II exams from the Panabeda college in the tribal- dominated Nowrangpur district.

“ I have realised the importance of education after becoming a minister. I want to be graduate now,” said Majhi whose father Jadav Majhi was a minister in the Biju Patnaik cabinet between 1990 and 1995.

Ramesh switched over to the arts stream as he thought it would be easier than science. His last paper is scheduled for March 30. The minister plans to stay in Dandamunda till the exams are over. The authorities have made separate arrangements for him at the examination centre.

Though Majhi now aspires to be a graduate, he said he never felt that his lack of higher education had been a hindrance to the execution of his official duties. The officials of the department had been very cooperative, he said. “ Nonetheless, I now want to study more,” he added.

However, some officials of the department, who did not want to be quoted for obvious reasons, felt that an important department like science and technology, which includes information technology, should not have been entrusted to a person who was just a matriculate.

“ Orissa is an emerging IT destination. The minister is pathetically dependant on senior bureaucrats for taking important decisions. There is always a fear that he may be misled by vested interests,” said an official.

Critics of Majhi said the incompetence of the department under him was evident from the way it was maintaining the state government’s website which was rarely updated.

“ Though Pramila Mallick resigned as women and child welfare minister in the wake of the dal scam about a month ago, she was still being mentioned as the department’s minister on the website till recently,” said an official. Such cases were a poor reflection not just on the minister but also on the department, the official added.