JHARSUGUDA: More than 35,000 people including Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik paid tributes to late minister Naba Kishore Das on his 12th-day death ritual at Sarbahal school ground here on Thursday.
The ‘Shradhanjali Sabha’ (prayer meeting) in remembrance of Das started at around 10 am under the chairmanship of Rourkela MLA and BJD’s Jharsuguda observer Sarada Prasad Nayak. The CM accompanied by 5T secretary VK Pandiyan arrived at around 12.25 pm and paid homage to Das. He also interacted with the late minister’s family members before leaving for Bhubaneswar.
Ministers Niranjan Pujari, Tukuni Sahu, Rita Sahu, Ashok Panda, Rajendra Dholakia, Pratap Deb, Rohit Pujari and Ranendra Pratap Swain and a number of BJD MLAs also attended the meeting. The BJD leaders remembered Das as a passionate champion of development who fought for the poor. Besides, leaders cutting across party lines also paid tribute to Das.
Speaking to mediapersons, the late minister’s son Bishal Das said, “In the last 11 days, I have realised what my father has done for the district. The development of Jharsuguda was his only dream. I along with my sister will work towards fulfilling his dream and put in all our efforts to achieve it. I am indebted to everyone who supported us during this period.”
Similarly, daughter Deepali said her father always talked about development. “He taught us to hold our heads high. His blessings will always be with us. We will go ahead to fulfil the things he always wanted,” she added. Sources said the statements of the siblings have given rise to speculations about one of them stepping into their father’s shoes in politics.
The district police had put in place elaborate security arrangements for the event. While the movement of vehicles was restricted from the Jharsuguda bus stand to the venue, at least 12 check posts were set up for smooth regulation of traffic. A map of the check posts and traffic arrangements was circulated widely on social media. Similarly, at least 25 platoons of police were deployed at the venue.