BHUBANESWAR: As war of words over heritage bylaws hots up between Biju Janata Dal and Bharatiya Janata Party, a combative ruling party on Wednesday countered Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi's claims and said Regional Director of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Kolkata, is the competent authority for heritage bylaws for Centrally protected monuments in Odisha.
The ruling party also took a jibe at the BJP MP's 'Odia culture understanding' and pitched her against fellow MP and Union MSME Minister Pratap Sarangi who has been assuring rollback of the heritage bylaws going against the saffron outfit’s stand on the issue.
A day after Aparajita Sarangi presented a Central gazette notification to cite that Director, Culture department is competent authority of NMA, Odisha, BJD general secretary (media affairs) Manas Mangaraj said as per Section 20(E) of Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958, the Regional Director of ASI, Kolkata, is the NMA-Odisha competent authority who has sent the proposal for heritage bylaws for Odisha’s temples.
Furnishing a gazette notification to back his claims, he said, "As the MP does not understand Odia culture, may be it is difficult for her to appreciate the sensitivity involved in a religious issue that links living deities with sevayats and devotees."
"Perhaps Honourable Minister Pratap Sarangi who is from Odisha is able to understand these sensitivities in a better way," Mangaraj added.