Bhubaneswar: Members of the opposition BJD in Odisha Thursday staged protests across the state over the ruling BJP’s move of delinking former chief minister Biju Patnaik’s name from the Panchayati Raj Divas March 5.
The party leaders and activists hit the streets in protest in all the 30 districts, a day after BJD president Naveen Patnaik alleged that attempts were being made by the BJP government to erase the Odisha stalwart’s legacy.
He had termed the BJP’s action a sign of “immature politics”.
The regional outfit has raised strong objection to the state government’s decision of separately observing Panchayati Raj Divas April 24 instead of observing it March 5, the birth anniversary of Biju Patnaik.
The CMO had earlier said that though March 5 has been celebrated as Panchayati Raj Divas in Odisha every year, this time the day will be observed April 24, as per the national observance.
As a mark of their protest, Naveen Patnaik and other BJD leaders had boycotted the government function to observe ‘Biju Jayanti’ Wednesday evening.
Chief Minister Mohan Majhi said those who skipped the function have committed a “sin”.
Majhi also asserted that the BJP government will fulfill Biju Patnaik’s dream of a prosperous Odisha, which the BJD “failed” to achieve during its 24-year rule in the state.
Shouting slogans and holding banners and posters, the BJD supporters staged road blockades and burnt tyres at several places in Odisha Thursday.
Forest Environment Minister Ganesh Ram Singh Khuntia, who was travelling to Bhubaneswar, had to halt for sometime after his vehicle was stopped by the agitators at Begunia Bazaar area in Khurda before police intervened.
The BJD party leaders also submitted a memorandum to the governor over the issue of delinking Biju Patnaik’s name from the Panchayati Raj Divas March 5.