Bhubaneswar: Taking a dig at Odisha’s Biju Janata Dal (BJD), Congress on Tuesday accused the ruling party of dropping the pictures of legendary Biju Patnaik from the party posters to make way for photos of bureaucrat-turned-politician V K Pandian.
Addressing a press meet in Bhubaneswar, Odisha in-charge of Congress Ajoy Kumar lamented that Pandian’s pictures are now replacing those of Biju Patnaik in the posters of BJD.
“It is a jolt to Odia pride. Late Biju Babu is loved and respected by the people of Odisha, but his pictures are no longer seen in the posters of BJD after Pandian’s entry,” he said.
Stating that he has travelled around1000 km in the state, the Congress leader said the same situation was observed everywhere and he would not be surprised if Chief Minister and BJD president Naveen Patnaik’s picture is replaced with Pandian’s photo.
“Biju Patnaik’s picture has gone missing. After a few days, Naveen Patnaik’s poster will also go missing,” Kumar claimed.
Hailing Biju Patnaik as one of the greatest sons of Odisha, Kumar said he had an opportunity to meet the legendary leader once during an opposition rally in Patna.
“If Biju Babu’s photo is removed from the poster, where is the Odia pride? Odisha is for the Odias. We are political opponents, but we still salute Biju Babu. If Biju Babu’s photo is removed, it hurts us,” the Congress leader said.
Stating that the people of Odisha should not accept that an a former IAS officer has removed Biju Babu’s photos, Kumar said that the pride of Odisha and Odias is important for Congress. “We want to tell VK Pandian that we cannot put up Biju Babu’s poster in the social function of our party, but we always respect Biju Babu. It hurts that BJD has started using such posters ignoring the legendary leader,” the Congress leader said.
