By Our Correspondent
NEW DELHI/BHUBANESWAR/PURI: Few weeks after the BJP National VP and Party’s in charge for Assam and Delhi, Baijayant ‘Jay’ Panda, who had came under scrutiny for his statement comparing Odisha’s state of affairs with that of Imran Khan ruled Pakistan, a senior Saffron Party leader in Odisha, Lekhashree Samantsinghar, too came under scanner for her statement over Lord Jagannath. BJD Rajya Sabha MP Dr Amar Patnaik, Puri Lok Sabha MP Pinaki Mishra and Kendrapara MP Anubhav Mohanty have came down heavily on BJP leader for such low statements of Lord Jagannath.
“First, Odisha is like Pakistan (@PandaJay) and now this gem! It’s an insult to Odisha and the land of the Lord of the Universe, Jagannath. Even a 3 year old child knows where Puri is, the humble abode of Lord Jagannath. Make no mistake, He is the lord of Kolkata as well!” BJD Rajya Sabha MP and National Spokesperson, Dr. Amar Patnaik tweetded @Amar4Odisha while sharing a video statement of BJP leader Lekhashree Samantsinghar, in which she was claiming the pilgrimage city came to limelight after Dr Sambit Patra, Party’s National spokesperson, became Lok Sabha candidate from there.
“Only those blinded by their low GK, coupled with ego and love for Kolkata, get confused and share notes with non-resident Odias to get their facts right. Shameful! Affront to Mo Jagannath and Mo Odisha.Just because the people of Odisha have rejected @BJP4Odisha, you want to reject them, insult them! But the fact remains that “Mo Jagannath is in Mo Odisha” and Jaga is with the people of Odisha,” MP Dr Patnaik added in another tweet. Dr Patnaik said, “First, BJP national vice-president Baijayant Panda compared Odisha with Pakistan; and now,Samantsinghar is giving such a statement. It is an insult to Odisha and the land of Jagannath, the Lord of the Universe. Even a three-year-old child knows where Puri is, the humble abode of Lord Jagannath. Make no mistake; He is the lord of Kolkata as well.”
“Outrageous statement sought to be justified, instead of a humble apology! Puri & the Lord’s abode has been the pride of Odisha from times immemorial and will remain so long after the arrogance of some has been swept away into the Bay of Bengal! @CMO_Odisha,” BJD Puri MP Pinaki Misra tweeted @OfPinaki. Puri MP Misra, who defeated Sambit Patra in the elections, said, Puri and the Lord’s abode have been the pride of Odisha from times immemorial and would remain so long after the arrogance of some is swept away into the Bay of Bengal.
“Till today, I was very much anxious and curious to know who’s this #GooglyMausi !Finally, my search is over ! I’m shocked to learn that she’s somewhere here in Odisha now and she has recently discovered that Mahaprabhu Shree Jagannath’s Puri Dham is in Kolkata !!!!!#JaiJagannath??Disclaimer: Everyone is adviced not to follow such useless statements. This can never be encouraged or accepted. I’m very sure that all political parties have die hard Lord Jagannath followers/devotees. Such careless statement has undoubtedly hurt all of us. Shame on the person who could dare to even think so cheap about #Puri??#SriGooglyMausi,” Kendrapara BJD Lok Sabha MP Anubhav Mohanty said in a Facebook post.
Similarly, Congress MLA Suresh Routray said Lord Jagannath is Himalaya and Sambit Patra is not even a dirt before Him. “Why is she even comparing? Has she lost her mind,” Routray questioned. Khandapada BJD MLA Soumya Ranjan Patnaik said, “In my experience, whenever people outside the State used to ask me where is Odisha, I used to tell them about Puri and people would easily understand and recognise.
Addressing party workers at an event here, Samantsinghar had said people used to think that Puri is in Kolkata, but they came to know about the town being in Odisha only after Patra contested from there. Soon after a video clip of her statement went viral on social media, leaders of different parties slammed Samantsinghar for her claim.
