Politics over history: BJD, BJP in Paika revolt slugfest

Bhubaneswar: The BJD and the BJP are leaving no stone unturned to get political mileage by commemorating 200th year celebration of Paika Rebellion of Khurda.
In this regard, President Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday will inaugurate a function in New Delhi to be attended by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and other senior BJD leaders along with Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Hundreds of descendants of the Paika martyrs have reached Delhi to attend the prestigious event. The President is scheduled to felicitate 150 Paika descendants on the occasion.
Though leaders cutting across party lines had lauded the announcement by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to commemorate the Paika Rebellion in his budget speech in February, the ongoing politics over the armed uprising against the British East India Company in Khurda in 1817 is hard to miss.
Pradhan, who had earlier written to Jaitley seeking budgetary allocation for celebration of the 200 years of Paika revolt, had said, “By giving recognition to the historic event, the Narendra Modi-led government has paid a befitting tribute to the heroes of Odisha who fought for the country.”
The move was seen an attempt to w