Bande Utkal Janani Row: BJD Leaders Bowl A Bouncer At Minister

Bhubaneswar: The controversial statement of Labour and Employees State Insurance and Energy minister Susanta Singh on ‘Bande Utkal Janani’ has sparked a row with even the ruling party leaders refusing to endorse his views.

“Except for the man who has composed the time-honoured poem, no one has the right to change a single word in it,” senior BJD leader and Sambalpur MP Nagendra Pradhan told mediapersons on Wednesday.

BJD leader and former Speaker Kishore Mohanty said there has been no such demand for replacing the word Utkal in western Odisha. “Whatever the minister has said on this issue is his personal opinion. The state government will take a final decision on this issue,” he said.

He, however, said that everyone is free to have an opinion on any matter.

Opposing the statement of the minister, activists of Ame Odia took out a protest rally at Master Canteen Square in Odisha capital on Wednesday afternoon.

“The statement of the minister is grossly unfortunate. If the chief minister will not take any action against him, we will intensify our agitation,” said Swayam Gopal Nayak, a member of Ame Odia.

Talking to the media persons on Tuesday, Singh had said though ‘Bande Utkal Janani’ is one of the adorable songs of Odisha, some people in western Odisha, spearheading the Kosala movement, are protesting against it.

“People in most places of western Odisha have suggested that the song will be acceptable to them if the word ‘Utkal’ is replaced with ‘Odisha’. Instead of Bande Utkal Janani, it should be ‘Bande Odisha  Janani’. I don’t know what decision the state government is going to take on this matter. But it would be better if it considers the sentiments of the people of western Odisha,” he had pointed out.