BJD Slams Odisha Govt Over Panchayati Raj Diwas; Says ‘Incorrect’ Date Shows ‘Petty Politicking’

Bhubaneswar: Odisha government’s decision to stop observing Panchayati Raj Diwas on former chief minister Biju Patnaik’s birth anniversary March 5 has triggered a controversy with opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) mounting a scathing attack on the BJP regime.

The Naveen-Patnaik-led regional party came down on the state government over its decision to observe Panchayati Raj Diwas on April 24 instead of March 5, Biju Patnaik’s birth anniversary.

Terming the move as unfortunate, senior BJD leader and 8-time MLA Ranendra Pratap Swain said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government forgot that much before the Centre started to celebrate Panchayati Raj Diwas, Odisha was observing it.

Stating that Odisha has been observing the day since the last three decades, the former Minister said Panchayati Raj Diwas was not being celebrated since 2020 as informed by the state government.

“This factually incorrect statement smacks of petty politicking and reflecting the identity crisis syndrome of the present government,” Swain said in a post on X handle.

Notably, an official statement had stated on Monday that Odisha has been celebrating Panchayati Raj Diwas on March 5 every year since 2020 in honour of BIju Patnaik, who was a supporter of decentralising power to the grass root level.

Describing the move to shift the Panchayati Raj Diwas as unfortunate, BJD coordination committee chairman Debi Prasad Mishra said Odisha has been observing the day on March 5 for the last over three decades. The decision to change the date to April 24 is a reflection of ‘narrow’ mindset and approach adopted by the BJP government, he said.