Trouble in Jharkhand over 'brand ambassador' Koena Mitra

Comments [ 0 ] By IANS | 12 January 2008 | 1:52pm

Ranchi, Jan 12 (IANS) Barely two days after Bollywood actress Koena Mitra was appointed as the brand ambassador of Jharkhand by diaspora magazine Pravasi Today during the diaspora conclave in New Delhi, trouble is brewing in the state.

Chief Minister Madhu Koda refuted some local media reports Friday on his return to the capital that Koena was appointed as the brand ambassador of the state.

Koda clarified, 'It was the Pravasi Today publication which roped in the actress to promote the state to non-resident Indians as an investment destination.'

A section of the local media had hinted that the Jharkhand government had appointed the Bengali actress to promote 'Brand Jharkhand' ignoring 'local celebrities'.

Bowing to pressure, the chief minister said he would appoint one-day international skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who is from state capital Ranchi, to promote the state.

Politicians, social workers and the people in the state want to know why Koena has been selected to endorse Brand Jharkhand when the state had 'several high-profile representatives'.

'Jharkhand had produced personalities in each field. One-day skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, actresses Tanushree Dutta and Priyanka Chopra">Priyanka Chopra, whose maternal grandfather lives in Jamshedpur, and hockey star like Sumrai Tete - any one of them could have been appointed to promote Jharkhand,' said S. Rajnana, a social worker.

Koena Mitra had unveiled a Pravasi Today special issue devoted to Jharkhand, along with Koda and Deputy Chief Minister Sudhir Mahto in New Delhi Jan 10.

Former chief minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Arjun Munda fumed: 'See the mental bankruptcy of the Madhu Koda government. This indicates the seriousness of the present government in developing the state. During my regime investors were flocking to sign memorandums of understanding (MoUs). And this government has failed to translate the MoUs into reality.'

Copyright IANS

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