Biju Babu Was A Man Of Steel: President Ram Nath Kovind

Cuttack: President Ram Nath Kovind on Saturday said former Odisha Chief Minister Biju Patnaik was known as a man of steel.

“Biju babu was the Union Steel minister in the Morarji Desai cabinet. But he was better known as a man of steel,” he said, addressing a gathering at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium here after dedicating the Anand Bhawan Museum and Learning Centre to the people of the country.

He said there were two Anand Bhawans in India during the independence struggle; one was at Allahabad and the other at Cuttack where strategies were made to make the country free from the British rule.

He said Biju babu always strove for empowerment of women. “His entire life was dedicated to his homeland Kalinga. Whatever he had done was named after Kalinga,” he pointed out.

Governor S C Jamir described Biju babu as a man of daring and sharp personality. The rescue of former Indonesian vice president Mohammad Hatta and Prime Minister Sutan Sjahrir on July 22, 1947, bears ample testimony to his extraordinary bravery.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said the Anand Bhawan is closely associated with socio-cultural changes in Odisha.

Stating that Biju babu was a statesman, a true patriot and a humanist, Naveen said the ideals of the legendary leader will remain as a torchbearer for the people of the next generation.

Earlier in the day, the President arrived at the Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar with his wife Sabita in a special Indian Air Force (IAF) flight ‘Rajkamal’.

The Governor, Chief Minister, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Bhubaneswar Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena, Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi and Director General of Police (DGP) R P Sharma received the First Couple.

From the airport, the President went to Cuttack and went around the Netaji Museum. He then went to Tulasipur and dedicated the Anand Bhawan Museum and Learning Centre, the ancestral home of Biju Patnaik, to the people of the country.

From Anand Bhawan, he went to the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium and addressed a public gathering.

According to the itinerary, the President will attend the foundation day ceremony of the National Law University Odisha (NLUO).

From Cuttack, the President will fly to Puri and have a night halt at the Circuit House there.

On Sunday, he will visit Lord Jagannath Temple for darshan at 7.30 am.

Later, he will attend the centenary celebration of Rashtriya Sanskirt Sansthan in Puri at 10 am.

After having lunch at Raj Bhawan at 1 pm, Kovind will return to Bhubaneswar and attend the annual convocation of IIT-Bhubaneswar at 3.30 pm.

He will also inaugurate the ICT-IOC (Institute of Chemical Technology–Indian Oil Corporation) Bhubaneswar campus and then lay the foundation stone for the Skill Development Institute of oil PSUs, before returning to Delhi at 5.30 pm.