Tathagata Satpathy

Life and work

Tathagata Satpathy is the younger son of former Odisha Chief Minister Nandini Satpathy and Devendra Satpathy. He is the owner and editor of the daily Odia newspaper, Dharitri, and the English daily, Orissa Post.

In 2000, Satpathy was suspended from the Biju Janata Dal (BJD). Following which, Satpathy joined the Orissa Gana Parishad (OGP) and served as its general secretary. After Naveen Patnaik got elected in 2000, Satpathy had used his newspaper Dharitri to criticise his policies. In March 2004, just before the Indian general election, 2004, Satpathy reconciled with BJD. He said that he was forced to quit OGP due its alliance with Janaki Ballabh Patnaik-led Indian National Congress (INC).

In April 2014, noted socio-political leader, the Chairman of Smt. Nandini Satpathy Memorial Trust (SNSMT) and the eldest grandson of Nandini Satpathy, Suparno Satpathy ( son of Tathagata's only elder brother ), contested against Tathagata Satpathy in the Indian general election, 2014 for the Dhenkanal constituency, but lost by a big margin. Suparno Satpathy contested on a Aama Odisha Party (AOP) ticket.

In March 2015, Tathagata Satpathy became the first Indian Member of Parliament to hold an official "Ask Me Anything" session on the content-sharing website Reddit. In April, Satpathy came forward in support of net neutrality, after the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) come out with a consultation paper on over-the-top (OTT) messaging services. In December 2015, Satpathy had supported a bill to decriminalise homosexuality. The bill was introduced by INC leader Shashi Tharoor. But, it was defeated with 71 against, 1 abstaining and 24 in favour.

On net neutrality

In March 2014, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) released a formal consultation paper on over-the-top (OTT) messaging services and whether telecom operators should be allowed to charge separately for some messaging apps. Soon afterwards, Tathagata Satpathy wrote an open letter to TRAI stating his support for net neutrality. In the letter, he said such a policy would hinder the Digital India project and kill new startups. He said that he used such apps to interact with his constituency and this policy will hinder his functioning as a representative.

On legalisation of cannabis

Tathagata Satpathy has criticised the ban on cannabis in India, while pointing out the long history of its usage as a ritual and recreational intoxicant. He has said that cannabis was banned in India while alcohol was not, because of "an elitist bias" as cannabis was a poor man's drug. He has said the addiction depends on person's character and not on the intoxicant. He has suggested an amendment to the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 to allow recreational and medicinal usage of marijuana. During his "Ask Me Anything" session on Reddit in March 2015, Satpathy admitted that he smoked cannabis when he was young. In August 2015, during the monsoon session of the Parliament, he proposed the decriminalisation of cannabis. In December 2015, he repeated his proposal during the winter session, saying that banning cannabis has forced villagers to turn to alcohol.

On homosexuality and moral policing

Tathagata Satpathy has condemned the Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which criminalises homosexuality in India, calling it "archaic" and called for its repeal. He had supported a bill introduced by INC MP Shashi Tharoor to decriminalise homosexuality during the 2015 winter session of the Parliament. When the bill was defeated, Satpathy called it a very sad day. Satpathy has also condemned moral policing and called for a repeal of laws banning pornography in India.

On privacy and Aadhaar

Tathagata Satpathy has raised concerns that the Aadhaar project could be used for mass surveillance or ethnic cleansing in the future. He has questioned why a new identity card project was created despite having several identity cards systems. He has also criticised the decision to present the Aadhaar Bill, 2016 as a money bill. He pointed out that although the bill allows the sharing of biometric under circumstances of national security, there was no concrete definition of national security included in the bill.

On religious laws and missionaries

Satpathy supports the implementation of a Uniform Civil Code in India. He has criticised those current laws which are based on various religions, saying that the world is moving beyond religious scriptures and such laws only divide the society. He has also said that a lot of faith-based foreign aid comes to Odisha through missionaries. They offer the poor Dalits free education and jobs, this results in mass conversions to Christianity. Satpathy has said that politicians should use the dictionary definition of secularism to avoid confusion.

Other opinions

Satpathy has supported the inclusion of Members of Parliament under the Jan Lokpal Bill to curb corruption. In December 2015, he criticised the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill, 2015 during a debate, saying that the government was favouring big corporations with such laws. He has also criticised the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana calling it flawed and that it looks good only on paper. He said it forces him to choose only 8 villages from his constituency for development out of 3000. Satpathy has opposed the proposal to make Hindi the national language.

Satpathy has criticised the construction of new nuclear power plants in India, claiming that most of the world was now moving away from nuclear energy. He has also claimed that Areva nuclear firm of France sold outdated technology to Maharashtra. He has also said that the centre should release the data regarding the safety of nuclear power plants as they are in other countries.