Pradeep Maharathy

Pradeep Maharathy (4 July 1955 – 4 October 2020) was an Indian politician belonging to the Biju Janata Dal (BJD).[1][2] At the time of his death, he was a member of the Odisha Legislative Assembly[3] representing Pipili Constituency.[4]

Pradeep Maharathy
Minister of Panchayati Raj, Drinking Water Supply, Agriculture, Fisheries of Odisha
In office
21 May 2014 – 6 January 2019
Personal details
Born(1955-07-04)4 July 1955
Pipili, Odisha, India
Died4 October 2020(2020-10-04) (aged 65)
Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
NationalityIndian
Political partyBiju Janata Dal
OccupationPolitician
Websitehttp://www.pradeepmaharathy.com

Personal background

Pradeep Maharathy was born on 4 July 1955 in Pipili, Khorapada, Puri,[5] the son of Gokulananda Maharathy. Maharathy later married and had a son and daughter.[6]

In 2004 Maharathy declared that there were 27 ongoing criminal charges against him regarding attempted murder, molestation, rioting, theft, criminal intimidation and dacoity.[6][7] In the lead-up to the 2019 Odisha Legislative Assembly election Maharathy declared there were 5 ongoing criminal charges against him regarding unlawful assembly, causing hurt and theft.[7] On 22 April 2019 he was arrested regarding an attack on personnel of the Election Commission of India at his house.[8] He was released on bail on 29 April.[9]

Maharathy died of COVID-19 on 4 October 2020 at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar, aged 65. He had been tested positive for COVID-19 on 14 September.[5][10]

Political career

He started his political career as a student leader in SCS college, Puri. For the first time in 1985 he was elected as the MLA from Pipili Constituency, Odisha. He was then a member of Janata Party. He was elected to the legislature seven times.[11]

Year Constituency Party
1985 Pipili (52) Janata Party
1990 Pipili (52) Janata Dal
2000 Pipili (52) Biju Janata Dal
2004 Pipili (52) Biju Janata Dal
2009 Pipili (110) Biju Janata Dal
2014 Pipili (110) Biju Janata Dal
2019 Pipili (110) Biju Janata Dal

In May 2011 Maharathy became Agriculture and Fisheries Minister in the Government of Odisha and served until 2012.[6] He resigned in August 2012 after criticism over relations he had with suspects in a Pipili gang rape case.[12] He also served as Minister between 2014 and 2017. In 2017 he was named Minister of Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water Supply.[5] He served until 2019 and also held portfolios regarding Agriculture and Farmers Empowerment and Fisheries.[6] On 6 January 2019 he resigned once again over the Pipili gang rape case, this time regarding comments he made over the acquittal of suspects.[13]

Awards received

Global Agriculture Leadership Award 2016[14][15]

Krishi Karman Award 2014-15 [16]

References
  1. "MLA Pradeep Maharathy Profile | PIPILI Constituency". naveenpatnaik.com. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  2. "Council Of Minister". odishaassembly.nic.in. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  3. "Pradeep Maharathy MLA Profile".
  4. "Puri Election Results - (Orissa)". www.elections.in. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  5. Mohammad Suffian (4 October 2020). "Seven-time Odisha MLA Pradeep Maharathy dies of coronavirus; Guv Lal, CM Patnaik express condolences". India Today. Archived from the original on 4 October 2020.
  6. Satyasundar Barik (4 October 2020). "Veteran BJD MLA Pradeep Maharathy passes away". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 4 October 2020.
  7. Debabrata Mohanty (4 October 2020). "Former Odisha minister Pradeep Maharathy dies of Covid-19". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 4 October 2020.
  8. "Odisha MLA Pradeep Maharathy arrested for leading attack on ECI team". The Hindu. 22 April 2019. Archived from the original on 14 June 2020.
  9. Hemanta Pradhab (28 April 2019). "Pradeep Maharathy gets bail in EC squad attack case". Times of India. Archived from the original on 19 August 2020.
  10. "BJD MLA Pradeep Maharathy passes away at 65 due to COVID-19 infection". ZEEnews. 4 October 2020. Archived from the original on 4 October 2020.
  11. "MLA Pradeep Maharathy Profile | PIPILI Constituency". www.moodisha.com. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  12. Prafulla Das (19 January 2012). "Odisha Minister quits over Pipili gang rape case". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 28 January 2012.
  13. "Odisha Agriculture Minister quits after controversy over remarks on Pipili rape case". The Hindu. 6 January 2019. Archived from the original on 3 February 2019.
  14. "Agriculture Minister Shri Pradeep Maharathy handing over the Global Agriculture Leadership Award 2016 to Chief Minister Shri Naveen Patnaik at Secretariat". naveenpatnaik.com. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  15. "Global Agriculture Leadership Award 2016 handed over to CM at Secretariat - Reporters Today". Reporters Today. 13 September 2016. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  16. "Odisha receives Krishi Karman Award 2014-15 from PM Modi -". Odisha News Insight. 19 March 2016. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
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