Letter Politics: Dharmendra Pradhan Pushes Odisha Govt To Target Illegal Highway Parking

Senior BJP MP and former Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan always had one eye on his home state Odisha. Forced to resign over NEET exam paper leak, he now seems to be taking more active interest in his state.  Sources say that Pradhan being a national level BJP leader is now seen nurturing a new weapon “formal letter politics”. His objective being to improve state level administration since trackable letter will force state authorities to take actionable steps spread over collectors, police and others rather than letting the issue stay confined to a private conversation.  Speculation is Pradhan may succeed in his plan since he has substantial backing by ruling BJP MLA’s and ministers. Pradhan, it is learnt, has written formal request letters to both the Odisha chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi and Union Minister Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari demanding stringent crackdown on illegal and hazardous parking of heavy commercial trucks along the state and national highways. He has mooted the idea of having a designated parking place for trucks, levying heavy penalty on violators including seizure of vehicles, and launching public awareness campaigns.  To support his views Pradhan has highlighted Supreme Court ruling regarding vehicle seizure provision. He has also urged the Odisha government to invoke Section 76 against industrial and mining companies whose transport logistics contributed to trafficking congestion and unsafe parking. Apart from this Pradhan is already pushing for having dedicated truck bays and logistics hubs in Odisha.