Bhubaneswar: Opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Tuesday lashed out at the Odisha Government after Banaras Hindu University (BHU) cancelled a lecture programme featuring a poet from the state.
BJD said the programme at BHU, scheduled under the prestigious Kabi Samrat Upendra Bhanja Odia Chair, was meant to highlight the works of revolutionary poet Santha Kabi Bhima Bhoi.
Party spokesperson Lenin Mohanty said BHU authorities had invited Odia poet Kedar Mishra well in advance. However, when he reached the university as a guest, organisers informed him that the programme had been cancelled as the Odisha government did not want the lecture to take place. Mishra, feeling insulted, returned without delivering the lecture.
Mohanty alleged that the BJP government in Odisha, with support from ruling BJP leaders in Uttar Pradesh, forced the cancellation. He described the move as political interference in the field of literature and an affront to Odia pride.
“BJP came to power, raising the slogan of Odia Asmita. However, by preventing the lecture, it has insulted not just one poet but the entire Odia literary world and the people of Odisha,” Mohanty claimed.
The BJD spokesperson said though the BJP government often speaks of reverence for literary figures, its actions reveal a narrow mindset. The BJD urged the state government to rise above such politics and stop insulting Odia literature personalities.
