Bhubaneswar, May 3 (Bureau) Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday slammed the Naveen Patnaik government for allowing a coterie of bureaucrats to destroy the “Odia asmita”( Odia pride). Addressing newsmen here, Pradhan said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has even expressed grave concern on the issue and set “Odia pride” as the main election agenda to take on the BJD government in both the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in the state. He alleged that there is a conspiracy by the BJD government to suppress the Odia pride and the democratic and constitutional process in the state, and the BJP will never allow this to happen and will make these the main election plans in the state. Pradhan alleged that, in the name of the Sri Mandir Parikrama project,the thousand-year-old heritage structures around the Sri Jagannath temple were destroyed and razed to the ground. He cited the destruction of the Languli Mutt, Emar Mutt, Mangu Mutt, Sana Chhata Mutt, and Bada Akhada Mutt, which were destroyed in the name of development. Pradhan also alleged that the Naveen Patnaik-led BJD government had filed a petition in the Supreme Court to cancel the Puri Rath Yatra in 2020, raising the COVID pandemic issue. He asked the Chief Minister to clarify who had hatched the conspiracy to stop the age-old tradition of the Rath yatra of Lord Jagannath.
The union minister alleged that a Buddhist stupa was destroyed on Parabhadi Hill by leasing it out to the state-run Odisha Mining Corporation for mining for khondalite stones. He said nobody is opposing the development but questioned if it is justified to destroy the Odia civilisation and heritage buildings for development. Pradhan said even after 24 years of BJD ruling,the people in the villages are deprived of safe drinking water; one crore people, including people from the Chief Minister’s home constituency Hinjili, are migrating to other states as dadan laborers iin search f work; the dropout rate in schools is rising; one lakh government jobs are lying vacant; and the teacher posts are also lying vacant in primary, secondary, and higher educational institutions. “Is this the pride of Odisha and Odia people? the Union Minister said, adding that Odisha is lagging behind in all development parameters. What type of development is this?” he questioned. Prdhan said the upcoming election in the state will be for Odia pride, Odia identity, the future of Odisha, and for the new generation. He said the BJP will perform much better in the election, winning all 21 Lok Sabha seats and forming the government in the state.