BHUBANESWAR: A statement made by Gajapati of Puri Dibyasingha Deb praising Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for the initiatives taken by him to beautify Puri and Sri Jagannath Temple, has come in for strong criticism from the Congress and BJP.
The Congress has taken exception to the comparison made by Gajapati between Naveen Patnaik and former Chief Minister JB Patnaik. While addressing a function at Puri, the Gajapati said, “The developments that are taking place in Puri at present were never seen earlier. Since the formation of Utkal Pradesh in 1936, no government in Odisha had ever thought of such a plan for the Srimandir and Puri,” he said.
The Gajapati further said, “We all know that the former Chief Minister Janaki Ballav Patnaik was a learned personality and had a deep knowledge about Jagannath Temple and culture. We were expecting such activities from him. But how come Naveen Babu could think of such activities and how this idea struck him? Is it not a great surprise? This is nothing but the providence of the Lord who gets the work done as He wishes to.”
The Congress, however, strongly criticised the Gajapati for his statement. “We all respect the Gajapati who has a special place in the hearts of the people. However, he should not have said that Naveen Patnaik has done everything for Puri and no work was done during the tenure of JB Patnaik as Chief Minister,” senior Congress MLA Suresh Kumar Routray said and added that people have not accepted such a statement from the Gajapati.
Giving details of the work undertaken under JB Patnaik’s regime, Routray said encroachers from the Grand Road were evicted to widen it while the marine drive between Puri and Konark, construction of a bus stand and drainage system were taken up. Stating that many small industries were set up in Puri during JB’s tenure, Routray said the work for widening Bhubaneswar-Puri highway was started at that time.
Routray, also a former Minister, said the Naveen Patnaik Government has only demolished some mutts on the direction from the Supreme Court, constructed some roads and evicted encroachers from Swargadwar.
Senior BJP MLA JN Mishra said, “Naveen Babu is an expert in earning praise without doing any work. I do not accept Gajapati’s statement.”
To ensure the safety and security of the 12th century shrine, the State Government has undertaken a drive for demolition of all structures within the 75-metre radius of the temple.