Former Odisha Assembly Speaker Maheswar Mohanty Cremated at Puri Swargadwar

Bhubaneswar: Veteran BJD leader and former Odisha Assembly Speaker Maheshwar Mohanty was cremated at Puri Swargadwar with full state honour on Tuesday.

Mohanty passed away early on Tuesday at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar. He was 67.

The BJD leader represented Puri Assembly constituency as MLA for five times consecutively from 1995 till 2014. He made his debut as MLA for the first time in 1995 as a Janata Dal candidate.

Later, he won the Puri Assembly constituency four times from 2000 to 2014 on a BJD ticket. He was the speaker of Odisha Assembly from May 21, 2004 to March 31, 2008.

In a condolence message, Chief Minister and BJD President Naveen Patnaik said that Maheswar Mohanty had earned a reputation as a popular mass leader. He was famous as an efficient administrator.

Mohanty played a significant role as MLA and minister in the development of the state. His role in the development of Puri will make him immortal as a leader. As a speaker, he had greatly contributed towards setting high democratic, parliamentary traditions. His death is a big loss to Odisha, the CM Patnaik said.

Several leaders across political parties have condoled the demise of Mohanty.