Winter Session of Parliament: BJD Demands Bharat Ratna to Biju Patnaik at All-Party Meet

New Delhi: The Biju Janata Dal (BJD), which was named after legendary leader Biju Patnaik, has demanded ‘Bharat Ratna’ to him at the all party meeting held ahead of winter session of Parliament here today.

Speaking to media BJD parliamentary party leader Pinaki Mishra, who attended the meeting, said, “I have demanded Bharat Ratna for Biju Patnaik as time has come to recognise Odisha.”

Though there will be 19 Bills to be introduced in the Parliament, creation of Legislative Council in Odisha is not in the agenda of the winter session. It has been unanimously passed in the Odisha Assembly and sent to Centre to pass in the parliament. I have requested in the meeting to include it, Mishra added.

Similarly as the Mines and Minerals Development Bill will be introduced we have demanded a draft copy to be circulated well in advance so that we could give suggestions If any, as it will affect Odisha. Similarly Disaster Management Bill will also be introduced in this session. It is important for Odisha as the State frequently faces natural disasters, Mishra said.

There is, no doubt, that Biju more than deserves the recognition, given his high stature and contribution as a freedom fighter, daredevil pilot, uncompromising leader, Union Minster, Chief Minister and above all an enterprising entrepreneur.

As an Odia he tried to promote Odia pride nationally and internationally. His involvement in rescuing Sultan Sjahrir of Indonesia during the Indonesian freedom movement in 1947 when his routes were blocked by the Dutch controlled air and sea ways is momentous.

As a mark of their indebtedness to Biju, the Indonesian Government bestowed on Biju the Bhumi Putra award and later on the occasion of their 50 years of independence in 1996, Biju was given Indonesia’s highest national award ‘Bintang Jasa Utama’.

Biju as a leader in the post-independence era in India was unique. A close aide of Nehru and a person who started his first innings as a Congress Chief Minister of Odisha in 1961, Biju parted ways with Congress after he fell out with Indira Gandhi over the Presidential election of 1969 and quit the Congress once and for all.

He played a pioneering role in the JP movement and suffered jail term during the emergency period in 1975. He was Union Steel Minister in the Governments of Morarji Desai and Charan Singh.

When Congress soaked in sympathy wave after the demise of Indira Gandhi and had a stunning victory in 1984, Biju had won from the Kendrapada Lok Sabha seat in Janata Dal ticket. In 1990, he became the Chief Minister of Odisha for the second time. He died while an MP from Aska in 1997.

Biju’s contribution to Odisha’s development was immense. He set up Kalinga tubes, Kalinga Airlines, Kalinga Iron work, Kalinga Refractories and the Kalinga, a daily Oriya newspaper. In 1951 he established the international Kalinga Prize for popularization of Science and Technology among the people and entrusted the responsibility to the UNESCO.

He spearheaded the Port of Paradip, Odisha aviation centre, Bhubaneswar airport, the Cuttack-Jagatpur Mahanadi highway bridge, Regional Engineering College, Rourkela, Sainik School Bhubaneswar, Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology-Bhubaneswar, Nalco and the Choudwar and Barbil industrial belts. He also established the Kalinga Cup in football.