Odisha Minister Pratap Deb Under Attack For Statement On Lord Jagannath & Naveen

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Minister and senior BJD leader Pratap Keshari Deb has drawn flak for reportedly comparing Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik with Lord Jagannath with the opposition parties terming his statement as a height of arrogance

Addressing a Biju Janata Dal (BJD) meeting in Bhubaneswar on Friday, Industries Minister Deb had reportedly drawn a comparison between Lord Jagannath and Naveen. Odisha, which was once known because of Lord Jagannath, is now recognized due to Naveen Patnaik, he said.

Reacting sharply to the statement, BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra said on Twitter, “It’s “Arrogance” to the hilt when a minister in Odisha, Pratap Keshari Deb says that while earlier people recognised Odisha in the name of Lord Jagannath..now it’s the CM who’s become more famous than the Lord ..& Odisha now is known because of Naveen Patnaik & not Jagannath ji.”

Noting that the minister’s statement is demeaning the faith of Odias, Patra wanted to know whether the CM too concurs with Deb’s statement.

“This is demeaning the faith of 4.5 crore Odias and all the Hindus across the Globe. We all would like to know whether the CM too concurs with the statement of Shri Deb ..if not will the CM reprimand the said Minister?,” Patra sought to know in his tweet on Saturday.

Neither Deb nor any other senior BJD leader was immediately available for comment on the issue.

Speaking on the concluding day of BJD’s two-day meeting, the Minister said, “There was a time when people knew Odisha because of Lord Jagannath. But, now, if you tell anyone that you are from Odisha, people will immediately identify it as the land of CM Naveen.”

While Lord Jagannath was the only identity of 4.5 crore people of Odisha earlier, now if you take the name of Odisha in any part of India, people will immediately identify it with Naveen Patnaik, the Minister had said.

Opposition leaders came down heavily on Deb for his statement and said BJD, which came to power using Lord Jagannath’s name and describing Naveen as the ‘bhakt’, is now filled with arrogance.

Hitting out at the Minister, BJP state general secretary Prithviraj Harichandan said BJD has crossed all limits of pride and arrogance. They have started seeing their party leaders as the alternative to Lord Jagannath which is an insult the people of Odisha, he said.