Bhubaneswar, April 17: Amid a renewed tussle over legendary leader Biju Patnaik’s legacy, BJD president Naveen Patnaik on Friday said that, some people are always happy playing the role of betrayal.
“Biju Babu was vast like the sky, tolerant like the earth, and towering figure like the Himalayas. But as you know, in Odisha politics, some people are always happy playing the role of betrayal. They should remember that no mask can hide their sins for long. People know who is what,” said the BJD supremo while paying tributes to the legendary leader on his death anniversary.
Highlighting that his father, Biju Patnaik, had played a pioneering role in the country for women empowerment, the BJD president said that, “It’s a matter of coincidence that the Parliament is taking up the Women Reservation Bill during the death anniversary of Biju Babu.”
“In fact, Biju Babu had played a pioneering role in the country for women empowerment long back in 90s. BJD strongly believes in the empowerment of women. Thus, we extend our support to the Women Reservation Bill,” said Naveen.
He, however, alleged that Odisha has been a victim of historical negligence by successive Union Governments.
“Day before yesterday I had written a letter to our Chief Minister, requesting him to convene a special session of the State Assembly in 48 hours to pass a resolution safeguarding the political interest of Odisha in the delimitation bill. Now it seems that, the Odisha Government prefers to be a mute spectator and is more interested in protecting the interest of BJP than Odisha and Odias,” said Naveen.
He also appealed to all MPs of Odisha to raise the issue strongly.
“I have also appealed to all MPs of Odisha irrespective of their party affiliation to raise the issue strongly. If we will not fight unitedly at this juncture, history will never forgive us,” said Naveen.
Notably, former Chief Minister Biju Patnaik’s 29th death anniversary has turned into a political flashpoint in Odisha, with rival camps holding parallel events.
A group of Biju loyalists sidelined from the BJD over the years - former Union Minister Dilip Ray, recently elected to the Rajya Sabha, senior leader Bijoy Mohapatra; editor-politician Soumya Ranjan Patnaik; Amar Satpathy; and Pravat Tripathy, among others - have come together under the banner of Odisha Nagarika Mancha, a non-political citizens’ forum, and plan to observe the anniversary on a large scale for the first time today triggering a political face-off.
