Bhubaneswar: Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who is BJP MP candidate from Sambalpur, on Friday made a startling revelation that the Naveen Patnaik-led BJD government in Odisha had filed a petition in the Supreme Court for cancelling Rath Yatra of Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri during the COVID times in 2000.
“Who had hatched the conspiracy to stop the Rath Yatra in 2020? What was in the affidavit of the state government? If the CM has the morality, he should issue a clarification on it. The BJD government seems to have complete monopoly over the shrine and I would not be surprised if a notice is issued barring me from entering it,” he told a presser.
Dharmendra said that he had donated Rs 1 lakh from his salary for development of the 12th-century shrine. He further revealed that the BJP government at the Centre had provided Rs 50 crore to the state for the Nabakalebara of the Lords in 2015.
Dismissing allegations that he had attempted to stall the Srimandir Parikrama Prakalpa, the BJP leader said that he had only objected to razing of several ancient structures. “A 13th-century sculpture of a lion was found on the premises of the Emar Mutt during the excavation for the heritage project. You lay paver blocks in the name of beautification and thrown away an ancient sculpture. What kind of development are you propagating? This is not acceptable,” he said while also questioning about the 7th-century idol of ‘Mahisasurmardini’ found during an excavation work adjacent to the Suka Sari temple near Lingaraj Temple in Bhubaneswar.
He also alleged that a Buddhist stupa was destroyed on Parabhadi hill which was leased out to OMC by state government for mining for khondalite stones to be used in Puri town renovation under ABHADA scheme.
Dharmendra said that he had sought land from the state government for construction of a Paika Memorial on the foothills of Barunei Hill. “Indian Oil Foundation has set aside Rs 90 crore for it. The Culture Ministry has also promised to chip in. But work on it is yet to begin as the state government has been deferring it on some pretext or the other,” he alleged, adding that these are some examples of direct attack on Odia asmita (pride).
Coming down heavily on Naveen and his party, he asked, “Who will lead Odisha? You (Naveen Babu) are the leader of a regional party. You could not find anybody from your party to lead it? Is there nobody among the 4.5 crore Odias to succeed you (Naveen Babu)? A coterie of bureaucrats has been damaging Odia asmita and dignity but Odia people will not tolerate the aggressors,” he said.
He also criticised the BJD for the continuing distress migration from the state. “One crore people of Odisha are working outside because of lack of opportunities in the state. Migration is still a serious concern in the state with the CM’s constituency witnessing the highest migration rate. Odisha is lagging behind in all development parameters. What type of development is this?” he questioned.
The BJP leader said that the saffron party will form a government in Odisha this time and win all 21 Lok Sabha seats from the state. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting Odisha from May 6. He may also make night halts and appeal to the people of the state to give an opportunity to the BJP. He has assured the people of the Odisha to develop it into the number 1 state in the country,” he said, adding that the upcoming election will be fought for Odisha’s better future.
Countering Dharmendra’s attack, senior BJD leader and candidate for Satyabadi Assembly constituency Sanjay Das Burma said the Union Minister has no right to talk about Odia identity and pride as he did not accept the invitation to attend the inauguration of Srimandir Parikrama Prakalpa.
While questioning his contribution to education and development of Odia language in the state, the BJD leader said that BJP is trying to divert the attention of people from core issues like inflation, rising prices of essential commodities, ballooning unemployment and Centre’s negligence to Odisha by raising non-issues.
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