Bhubaneswar, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday claimed that the BJ government in Odisha had filed a petition in the Supreme Court to cancel the Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath in Puri during the COVID pandemic in 2020.
Addressing a press conference here, the BJP leader blamed a "coterie" around Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for "hurting" Odia 'asmita' (pride).
Pradhan's statement came after Patnaik's close aide and senior BJD leader V Pandian accused Union Minister and Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi of opposing the Sri Mandir Parikrama and Ekamra Kshetra projects.
"Who conspired to stop the Rath Yatra in 2020? If the CM has morality, he should make it clear. It seems the BJD government has a complete monopoly on the temple and I would not be surprised if a notice is issued to me to stop it." Let it be recorded,” Pradhan said.Saying he was not against the Puri Temple Heritage Corridor project, Pradhan said he had donated Rs 1 lakh from his salary for the development of the 12th century temple.
He said the BJP government at the Center had also given Rs 50 crore to the state for the Nabakalebara festival in 2015.
Rejecting allegations that he had attempted to stop the Srimandir Parikrama project, Pradhan, however, said he had only objected to the demolition of several ancient monastic structures.
“This cannot be termed as stopping the project,” he said.
Referring to Pandian's recent statement in an interview where the BJ leader had claimed that he was the "natural heir to the great values of Naveen Patnaik", Pradhan came down hard on the chief minister and his party."Who will lead Odisha? You (Naveen Patnaik) are the leader of a regional party, yet you have not found anyone from your party to lead it? Is there no one to succeed you among the 4.5 crore Odias? A coterie of bureaucrats formed This attack will harm Odia identity and dignity but Odia people will not tolerate the attackers,” Pradhan said.
Senior BJD leader and former minister Sanjay Das Barma rejected Pradhan's allegation and said the fact that the Union minister did not attend the inauguration of the heritage corridor project shows his attitude towards it.
Das Burma stressed that the BJD government has done a lot for the upliftment of Odi language, culture and tradition.
He said, "During the tenure of Naveen Patnaik, the name of the state was changed from Orissa to Odisha." He said that now BJP is raising the issue of Oriya 'identity' during elections to mislead people.
Addressing a press conference here, the BJP leader blamed a "coterie" around Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for "hurting" Odia 'asmita' (pride).
Pradhan's statement came after Patnaik's close aide and senior BJD leader V Pandian accused Union Minister and Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi of opposing the Sri Mandir Parikrama and Ekamra Kshetra projects.
"Who conspired to stop the Rath Yatra in 2020? If the CM has morality, he should make it clear. It seems the BJD government has a complete monopoly on the temple and I would not be surprised if a notice is issued to me to stop it." Let it be recorded,” Pradhan said.Saying he was not against the Puri Temple Heritage Corridor project, Pradhan said he had donated Rs 1 lakh from his salary for the development of the 12th century temple.
He said the BJP government at the Center had also given Rs 50 crore to the state for the Nabakalebara festival in 2015.
Rejecting allegations that he had attempted to stop the Srimandir Parikrama project, Pradhan, however, said he had only objected to the demolition of several ancient monastic structures.
“This cannot be termed as stopping the project,” he said.
Referring to Pandian's recent statement in an interview where the BJ leader had claimed that he was the "natural heir to the great values of Naveen Patnaik", Pradhan came down hard on the chief minister and his party."Who will lead Odisha? You (Naveen Patnaik) are the leader of a regional party, yet you have not found anyone from your party to lead it? Is there no one to succeed you among the 4.5 crore Odias? A coterie of bureaucrats formed This attack will harm Odia identity and dignity but Odia people will not tolerate the attackers,” Pradhan said.
Senior BJD leader and former minister Sanjay Das Barma rejected Pradhan's allegation and said the fact that the Union minister did not attend the inauguration of the heritage corridor project shows his attitude towards it.
Das Burma stressed that the BJD government has done a lot for the upliftment of Odi language, culture and tradition.
He said, "During the tenure of Naveen Patnaik, the name of the state was changed from Orissa to Odisha." He said that now BJP is raising the issue of Oriya 'identity' during elections to mislead people.
