‘Biju Patnaik Sports Award’ Name Will Not Be Changed, Says CM Majhi after Severe Backlash

Bhubaneswar: After facing severe backlash over his government’s move to rename of Biju Patnaik Sports Award as Odisha Rajya Krida Samman, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi today said that the State Government will not change the name of the award.

In a statement, the Chief Minister said that he got the information from the media about the name change of Biju Patnaik Sports Award. No formal decision has been made regarding the name change, he said.

The CM further said that his government gives due respect to great sons of Odisha. Biju Babu’s contributions in his long decades of political and social life will be always remembered, Majhi said.

The Biju Patnaik Sports Awards will continue as before, he added.

The Chief Minister’s statement comes just a day after the BJP government was heavily criticized for the move to rename the Award.

The opposition Biju Janata Dal strongly condemned the state government’s move to rename the Biju Patnaik Sports Award as Odisha Rajya Krida Samman, accusing the BJP of resorting to narrow politics.

BJD spokesperson and Nayagarh MLA Arun Sahoo said that Biju Patnaik was a legendary figure in Indian politics. The BJP government has changed the State sports award that was previously conferred in the honour of the legendary leader and the freedom fighter Biju Patnaik. This decision shows BJP’s narrow political perspective, the senior BJD leader said while urging the saffron party to refrain from engaging such type of politics.

What will the BJP government gain by removing the name of Biju Patnaik, who is a revered figure in Odisha and respected by all political parties, asked the BJD.

Notably, the Biju Patnaik Sports Award was instituted in 2001-2002.

The award is presented on the occasion of National Sports Day on August 29, in four different categories – outstanding performance in sports and games, lifetime achievement in the promotion of sports and games, excellence in coaching and excellence in sports journalism.