BHUBANESWAR: As the Opposition BJD hit the streets across the state protesting shifting of Panchayati Raj Divas from March 5 to April 24, the youth wing of the BJP launched a counter protest at the district level blaming the regional party for desecration of a statue of Biju Patnaik at Mahanga in Cuttack district a day before his birth anniversary.
BJP Yuva Morcha activists holding defiled posters of leader of Opposition and BJD president Naveen Patnaik and former minister Pratap Jena staged a protest near the statue of Biju Babu at the Biju Patnaik International Airport here on Thursday.
State Yuva Morcha president Akhilesh Panda said defacing of Biju Babu’s statue at Umar village under Mahanga Assembly constituency on the eve of the birth anniversary of the legendary leader was the handiwork of BJD workers. This was deliberately done to defame the BJP, he said.
He stated that three persons have been arrested in this connection due to prompt action taken by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi. The three involved in vandalising the statue were BJD workers, he alleged.
On the other hand, the BJD demanded the arrest of Mahanga MLA Sarada Nayak for his alleged involvement in the vandalisation of Biju Patnaik statue at Umar village. “Police have arrested three persons after BJD raised the issue, but the mastermind behind the act is still roaming free,” party spokesperson Lenin Mohanty said.
Meanwhile, CM Majhi on Wednesday criticised Naveen Patnaik for boycotting the state-level function organised by the state government to celebrate the birth anniversary of Biju Patnaik. “Biju Babu’s birth anniversary should be kept above politics. Naveen Patnaik was invited to the function but chose not to attend,” he said.
Former minister Amar Prasad Satpathy found no wrong with the state government for deciding to observe the Panchayati Raj Divas on April 24.