Even Gods Are Not Secure Under BJD Rule: BJP Blasts Odisha Govt Over Lingaraj 'Land Grab Case'

BJP State president Samir Mohanty on Sunday lashed out at the BJD government in Odisha over the expose of shocking land grab allegations pertaining to property of Lord Lingaraj in Bhubaneswar. 

Taking a dig at the government, Mohanty mocked that the level of corruption and inefficiency has surged to such a level in the state under the present government, that even the Gods are not safe. The BJP state party unit chief's criticisms came in the wake of the Khordha district administration stopping the construction work initiated by a private organization on a piece of land reportedly owned by Lord Lingaraj, near the Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA). 

The administration is said to have sealed the container and has put up red flags on the contentious land. Notices have also been pasted on the under construction boundary wall enclosing the said land. According to reports, a piece of Lord Lingaraj’s land measuring about two acres was wrongfully transferred in the names of two people in 2016. Later, one of them had reportedly sold his share of land upon which a private organization had recently started construction work. 

Meanwhile, after coming to know about the development, the Principal Secretary to the Revenue Department had written a letter to the Khordha district Collector while directing him to get back the land in question. While the case was sub judice before the Board of Revenue, the construction work on the contentious land had been underway in full swing until Sunday when the local Tehsildar and Additional Tehsildar reached the spot and halted the construction work in presence of police. 

“As per the direction of the member of the Board of Revenue, we have halted the construction work in presence of police. No construction work is allowed on the land till the final judgment,” informed Bhubaneswar Tehsildar Pradeep Kumar Sahu. 

Ridiculing the State government, Odisha BJP State president Samir Mohanty said it is the government’s responsibility to safeguard the properties of deities. “Nothing is more unfortunate than if the assets of the Gods are encroached upon and misappropriated through corruption and conspiracy,” alleged Mohanty. The State BJP president also urged the government to take immediate steps to reclaim the Lord's lands under encroachment. 

When contacted, Minister Ashok Chandra Panda, who is also the local MLA, said, “The government is making sure that under no circumstances will the land properties of Lord Lingaraj or those of any other deities within the jurisdiction of the Endowment department be transferred to anyone.”