BHUBANESWAR: Soon after Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik demanded the Centre to withdraw the draft bylaws for Ananta Basudeva and Brahmeswar temples, invoking sentiments of lakhs of devotees and interests of servitors, Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan launched a counter stating he has not been properly briefed on the issue.
He asserted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government will leave no stone unturned in respecting the culture and sentiments of Odisha and its people.
Referring to Naveen's tweets on the issue, Pradhan also took to Twitter saying, "It seems Chief Minister has been inadequately briefed on the applicability of the draft bylaws promulgated by NMA on the Ananta Basudeva and Brahmeswar temples."
"To facilitate better upkeep, protection and preservation of these national treasures, NMA was constituted by a court order to provide better policy and legal framework to further improve upon preservation of monuments of immense cultural and historical importance," he said, adding that the Culture Director, government of Odisha, being the competent authority has been giving necessary permissions for any kind of construction and development activities within the periphery of the notified monuments in Odisha.
Stating that protection of monuments of national, historical and cultural importance is a collective responsibility of all, the Union Minister said Chief Minister who is a founding member of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) must be aware that all notified monuments are protected under the AMASR Act, 1958 enacted in the Parliament.
He urged the Chief Minister to direct the Chief Secretary of Odisha to examine point by point provisions of the draft bylaws, list out objections of the State government and write a letter to the Secretary of Culture Ministry. "The Centre is committed to address through dialogue all objections of the Odisha government regarding these draft bylaws," Pradhan said.