Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik seems to have painted himself into a corner by not attending the G20 dinner hosted by President Droupadi Murmu and not thanking the Centre for recognising Odisha’s art and culture in the G20 Summit in New Delhi.
At a time when the Chief Ministers of non-BJP states like Bihar, Jharkhand and Himachal Pradesh took part in the banquet, Naveen Patnaik despite being invited was conspicuous by his absence. This has increased the political temperature by several notches with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Jaynarayan Mishra targeting him.
“It seems to me that a kind of inferiority complex might have pulled him back. He might have thought what he would do there where great personalities were invited. He who has no talents develops an inferiority complex. Because of this inferiority complex, he didn’t go there,” Mishra added.
He further flayed the Chief Minister saying he knows only to lap up appreciation but doesn’t know how to appreciate others.
Similarly, OPCC chief Sarat Pattanayak said, “They (BJP and BJD) are united but when it comes to giving credit, they step back. Because they want to send out a message that we are separate. From Odisha's point of view, he should have participated in the dinner.”
BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty hit back and said, “The situation has not come as yet when the Odisha BJP would teach the BJD. When someone gives comments on a statesman whom the nation’s top leaders are appreciating, the best thing is to ignore him.”
Starting from Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, BJP National Vice President Baijayant Panda, BJP National Spokesperson Sambit Patra, Internationally acclaimed sand artist Sudarshan Patnaik and other notable personalities took to their social media handles and described Konark wheel's recognition in the G20 Summit a moment of proud.
Till then, the Chief Minister was keeping a mum on it. It was when a political debate over the issue started to pick up that he shared a video on his social media account.
“What a proud moment for #odisha and the country #konarkchakra symbolizing our glorious history” read his post.
Padma Vibhushan recipient sculptor Sudarshan Sahoo said, “It is a matter of great pride for Odisha for so much importance was given to Odisha at the G20 Summit.”
When asked, senior journalist Prasanna Mohanty said, “The way importance has been accorded to our Konark Chakra, our art and culture and music of our western Odisha, it is a matter of great pride for all of us. And all should come above the party lines to appreciate this.”