Bhubaneswar: The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Odisha over the cancellation of Panchayati Raj Diwas celebrations on March 5. The party termed the move “politically motivated” and alleged that it aimed to erase Biju Patnaik’s legacy.
On Monday, the chief minister Mohan Majhi-led state government announced that March 5, the birth anniversary of former CM Biju Patnaik, henceforth would not be celebrated as Panchayati Raj Diwas as was being done over the last two decades.
“March 5 is the birth anniversary of Odisha’s great son Biju Patnaik. The state government has decided to celebrate it with grand celebrations. However, the day will not be observed as a government holiday. The Panchayati Raj Diwas would be celebrated along with the rest of the country on April 24,” the chief minister’s office (CMO) said in a statement.
On Tuesday, the School and Mass Education department announced that all government and government-aided schools in the state will remain open on Wednesday, March 5, as it will no longer be a holiday.
Terming the move as unfortunate, senior BJD leader and MLA Ranendra Pratap Swain said the BJP government had forgotten that Odisha had been observing Panchayati Raj Diwas much before the Centre started to celebrate it. “The decision is undemocratic, and it could create social discord,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Terming the move as unfortunate, senior BJD leader and MLA Ranendra Pratap Swain said the BJP government had forgotten that Odisha had been observing Panchayati Raj Diwas much before the Centre started to celebrate it. “The decision is undemocratic, and it could create social discord,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Another BJD leader, Debi Mishra, said, “Biju Patnaik was the main architect of the establishment of the three-tier Panchayati Raj system in the state and the country. After assuming charge as the chief minister of the state in 1961, Patnaik started working towards the development of human resources and cottage industries in rural areas through the Panchayati Raj system. After becoming the chief minister for the second time in 1990, he laid the foundation of the three-tier Panchayati Raj system in the state and passed Bills in the state assembly to get more women into the system. The state government’s reluctance to honor the contributions of a statesman like Biju Patnaik is a sign of cowardice.”
In 1991, then Odisha chief minister Biju Patnaik passed three important Acts – Orissa Gram Panchayat (Amendment) Act, Orissa Panchayat Samiti (Amendment) Act and the Orissa Zilla Parishad (Amendment) Act, providing one-third seats for women in Panchayati Raj Institution (PRI) bodies, making the state the first to reserve one-third of the seats in PRIs.
The following year, the central government passed the 73rd Amendment. In 2011, chief minister Naveen Patnaik increased the reservation to 50%.
The decision to stop celebrating Biju Patnaik’s birth anniversary as Panchayatiraj Diwas comes in the backdrop of the Mohan Majhi government changing the names of 21 schemes of the previous BJD government, including some schemes that bore the name of the former CM.
The Biju Swastya Kalyan Yojana, the flagship health insurance scheme of the previous BJD government, has been renamed as Ayushman Bharat Gopabandhu Jana Arogya Yojana by the government. Similarly, the Biju Setu Yojana has been renamed as Setu Bandhan Yojana, Biju Pucca Ghar Yojana as Antyoday Gruha Yojana, Biju KBK as KBK Vikas Yojana, and Biju Yuva Sashaktikaran Yojana as ‘Godabarisha Vidyarthi Protsahana Yojana’. However, the state government took a U- turn on renaming of the Biju Patnaik Sports Award as Odisha Rajya Krida Samman after a controversy broke out.