BHUBANESWAR: Use of conch symbol in the government advertisement of ‘Ama Odisha Nabin Odisha’ scheme launched on Tuesday has fuelled a fresh political battle with the BJP threatening to take the issue to the court and the Congress rasing it with Governor Prof Ganeshi Lal.
“It is highly objectionable to use party symbol in a government scheme. The move is aimed at influencing the voters ahead of the next election. We will challenge it in the court of law,” Opposition chief whip Mohan Majhi told reporters here.
A delegation of the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) led by Sarat Pattanayak, meanwhile, submitted a memorandum to Governor Prof Ganeshi Lal objecting to the conch symbol in the advertisement.
Congress leader Sudarsan Das also objected to the launching of the scheme by the state government while the issue is sub-judice. Das had filed a petition in the high court alleging that the scheme is against the constitution and panchayat system.
He stated that the government has decided to spend Rs 50 lakh in each panchayat under the scheme but panchayat representatives or gram sabhas have not been involved in implementation of the scheme. The high court had issued notice to the state government to place facts on October 12.
Meanwhile, the BJD countered the allegations and said ‘Ama Odisha Nabin Odisha’ is a scheme launched for the welfare of the people. Stating that conch is symbol of Odisha’s culture and is used in every good work, senior BJD leader Arun Sahu said the BJP wants the scheme to stop.