The first woman chairperson of Burla notified area council (NAC), Chadrabati Nayak, has recently found herself in the middle of a controversy over her caste. While Nayak contested the election for the NAC chairperson’s post claiming she belonged to scheduled castes, a recent report by the revenue supervisor of Sambalpur tehasil says she is a Rajput. The post of the chairperson is reserved for SC candidates.
“I have received the report about her caste. I have not verified it yet. Action will be initiated against her if she is found guilty,” sub-collector Rainu Singh said on Wednesday. Sources said if she was found guilty, she would not only lose her post, but might also be put behind the bars for faking her caste.
Chandrabati Nayak got elected from ward number three of the Burla NAC two years back contesting the poll as an independent candidate. She later joined the BJD and became the chairperson of the NAC. However, there has been a dispute regarding her caste since the day she took charge of the NAC. Jagaran Samiti, a social body of Burla, raised questions about her caste. They have submitted several petitions to the local tehasildar in this regard.
The tehasildar had assigned a revenue supervisor to conduct a probe and submit a report on the matter. In his report, the supervisor mentioned that Nayak belonged to Rajput caste as her father originally hailed from Bihar. It was also evident from her school records and other documents available in Burla.
“After the report of the revenue supervisor, the doubts have been cleared. She does not belong to SC community, and she should be immediately removed from the office of chairperson,” convener of Jagaran Samiti Pankaj Behera said. She added that they would resort to agitation if the administration tried to shield the chairperson.
