Bhubaneswar: The ruling BJD took a swipe at Union Minister and senior BJP leader Dharmendra Pradhan for writing to Union Culture and Tourism Minister K Kishan Reddy to entrust preservation and conservation of Kapileswar Temple in Bhubaneswar to Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) despite a Gazette Notification on the same on May 5.
“The Union Minister shot off a letter to the Culture Minister on May 9 oblivious to the development. All he could have done is ask his cabinet colleague about it. It appears like a desperate attempt to take the credit for the ‘Monument of National Importance’ tag to temple,” said BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty.
The Culture Ministry had released a notification stating its intention to declare the temple as a ‘Monument of National Importance’ under section 4 of AMASR Act and sough objections in this regard within 2 months.
Terming him as a “publicity-hunger” Union Minister, Lenin cited the example of Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha MP Aparajita Sarangi to further snub Dharmendra. “He is becoming a butt of public ridicule and his desperation is palpable. Instead of garnering publicity, he should concentrate on getting tasks done. And in this connection he has a lot to learn from his party colleague Aparajita Sarangi,” he added.
Notably, the ASI initiated the step after Aparajita met Reddy on April 4 seeking inclusion of the 15th-16th-century shrine in its list of protected monuments in Odisha. The temple is currently protected by the State Archaeology wing.
