Bhubaneswar: Days after joining Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), former MP Sidhant Mphapatra on Wednesday hit out at Odisha’s ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) accusing it of continuously neglecting Odia language and lowering the state’s culture.
Addressing a press meet in Bhubaneswar, the actor-turned-politician alleged that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has been making tall claims about the BJD government promoting Odia in a big way without himself learning the language properly.
Sidhant, who recently quit the ruling BJD and joined BJP, has been fielded by the saffron party to contest the upcoming Assembly elections from Digapahandi in Ganjam district.
Coming down heavily on the BJD government on a number of issues, he lashed out at the Chief Minister accusing him of using ‘Roman English’ while speaking in our mother tongue.
The way this government is treating Odia language and culture is condemnable, he said.
Stating that the people of the state were hurt as the Chief Minister found no time to participate in Utakala Dibasa celebration,
Sidhant, who was Lok Sabha MP from Berhampur from 2009 to 2019, said it was unfortunate that the CM sent his representative to the birth and workplace of Utkala Mani Gopabandhu Das.
Referring to the first ever World Odia Language Conference organised by the state government recently, the BJP MLA candidate said the manner in which the event was conducted and the language was treated looked pathetic and shocking. There is nothing wrong in thinking about the Odia language in future. But everyone should be concerned about its present state, he said.
Because of the callous approach of the state government, there was utter mismanagement during the World Odia Language Conference, he claimed, adding that the names of eminent personalities were not pronounced and mentioned correctly.
It was highly shocking that the BJD government gave the charge of the event as a coordinator to a non-Odia, he claimed
Terming the BJD government’s claims as hollow, Sidhant said nothing is being done to promote Odia language which should be the responsibility of the Odisha government.
Stating that BJP will raise its voice whenever there is a threat to the Odia language and its pride, he said if the party comes to power it will take Odia language to new heights.
