BHUBANESWAR: The BJD came down on Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan for raking up ‘Odia Asmita’ just before elections accusing him of trying his best to stall the Srimandir Parikrama project.

Countering Pradhan’s attack on BJD shortly after his media conference, 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 the Srimandir heritage corridor project.

“It is due to the untiring efforts of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik that Odia received classical language status which is a matter of pride for all Odias. The Centre has contributed significantly to the development and growth of Sanskrit, Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil and Telugu. Will Pradhan tell how much did the Central government sanction for Odia language,” he asked. Pradhan has been a central minister holding important portfolios including education. Let him tell the people of the state about his contribution to education and development of Odia language in the state, Sanjay said.

Describing former chief minister and veteran leader Biju Patnaik as the symbol of ‘Odia Asmita’, Sanjay said the former’s contribution to the state and the country is unparalleled. There has been a demand for granting Bharat Ratna to Biju Babu for a long time. The BJP government at Centre never thought it fit to give him the highest civilian award of the country when leaders of other states were considered. The people of the state know well who stands on the way of selecting Biju Patnaik for the highest award.

The BJD leader said 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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