Who Is Prakash Mishra, Advisor In Mohan Majhi Government
Bhubaneswar, Odisha: Retired IPS officer and BJP leader Prakash Mishra on Monday (January 28) was appointed as an advisor to Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and gave the status of a cabinet minister. A 1977-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer possessing nearly four decades of experience in policing is expected to advise the Chief Minister on issues concerning police, intelligence, and law and order through this new role. His appointment is viewed as a strategic move by the BJP government to establish a hold over the bureaucracy and bring their consensus, an attempt that has been proven effective during the previous Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government.
“I express my gratitude to the Chief Minister. I will try to resolve various issues faced by the people in a collective manner. We will try to ensure that state’s law and order and crime situation will not hinder state’s progress,” Indian Express quotes Mishra as saying after the appointment.
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Mishra had a noteworthy career as he had served as Odisha DGP from 2012 to 2014 and retired in 2016 as the Director General of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). During his period on central deputation, he undertook significant roles, including Director General of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), additional DG of the National Investigation Agency, and Special Secretary (Internal Security) in the Union Home Ministry.
In July 2012, the Patnaik government brought back Mishra from central deputation to head the Odisha police. His return was at a time when the state was heavily hit by Maoist insurgency, as several parts of Odisha were struggling with the challenge posed by left-wing extremism. His experience and involvement played a pivotal role in containing the Maoist menace in the region and the successful conduct of Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in the state thereafter.
Wrath of the Government
When Mishra and his team seized ambulances transporting unaccounted campaign money for the BJD during the 2014 elections, his relationship with the Patnaik government soured.
“When I was the DGP of the State during the last election, I had directed officers to be impartial while dealing with illegal cash flow during the polls. During that time, some instances of seizure of cash belonging to the ruling BJD came to fore. It irked the ruling party and they accused me of working at the behest of BJP in spite of the fact that I had no political affiliations during that time,” Mishra told Odisha TV.
In July 2014, the government removed him from the post of Odisha Police Chief and assigned him a non-police cadre position, chairman-cum-managing director of the Odisha State Road Transport Corporation. It was viewed as a punishment posting, and within months, the government booked a vigilance case against Mishra in September 2014.
The Vigilance Department had alleged that he had committed “financial impropriety” during his tenure as the chairman of the state-run Odisha State Police Housing and Welfare Corporation (OSPHWC) from 2006-2009. As per the allegations, Mishra had shown undue benefits to some steel and cement suppliers overriding rules and thereby causing loss to the state treasury.
The case was registered at the time his name was being considered for the post of CBI director, and reportedly, the case has thwarted his chances of getting the top job.
In June 2015, the Orissa High Court quashed the charges against Mishra, indicating the state government acted with a political motive. “It’s not uncommon that honest and upright officers are victimised by political establishments,” the Court said in the order. Observing that there is no preliminary case against Mishra, the court criticised director of vigilance and claimed that it did not “ensure free and fair investigation before registering a case against the officer”.
Following his retirement in 2016, Mishra was appointed one of the two advisers to then-Uttarakhand Governor KK Paul when the state was witnessing a political turmoil and President’s rule was imposed. He then joined the BJP, and in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, he contested from the Cuttack Lok Sabha constituency on a party ticket but lost.
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Comedy in Khakee: The Humorous Memoirs of a Policeman
Mishra, on January 11 this year, released his memoir, Comedy in Khakee, recounting the life of his career in the police service with a humorous take. The book contained anecdotes of “Uncanny Boss”, a veiled attack at Patnaik without naming him. It is interesting to note that weeks after the publication of the book, he has been inducted to the present advisory role.
Mohan Charan Majhi government
In the Mohan Majhi government, he is expected to provide advise concerning the areas of police, intelligence, and law and order. Odisha Chief Minister is currently assisted by three IAS officers, namely Nikunja Bihari Dhal as additional chief secretary, Manoj Kumar Sahoo, private secretary, and Anupam Saha, additional secretary. Mishra will fill the gap of an IPS officer in the team. Besides, the government has also appointed Madhusudan Padhi, a retired IAS officer, as the next State Election Commissioner of Odisha.
