Bhubaneswar: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday termed the move of Odisha government reciting ‘Bande Utkala Janani’ to honour Corona Warriors as part of the ruling-BJD's plan to take political mileage.
BJP leader Kharavela Swain said that the song is adored by every Odia but the government is yet to accord state song status to it even after decades.
"Though on the call of Prime Minister Narendra Modi people gave tributes to Corona warriors by clapping, ringing bells, beating utensils, it (reciting ‘Bande Utkala Janani’) became a government programme in Odisha," said Swain.
Congress leader Panchanan Kanungo hit out at both the BJP and the BJD and said, "Both the parties are doing drama to divert people's attention from the real issues and to hide their failures."
Responding to the allegations, BJD MLA Soumya Ranjan Patnaik said that political leaders always try to give everything a political colour. "I am also a political leader but things like this should not be politicised," he said.
On the other hand, several cultural organisations and political parties have been demanding state song status for ‘Bande Utkala Janani’.
Without any further delay, the government must accord state anthem tag to Bande Utkala Janani, said Prabhu Kalyan Mohapatra, grandson of Kantakabi Lakshmikant Mohapatra who had written the famous song.
"Reciting the song in the honour of Corona warriors was a welcomed move but CM Naveen should think about granting the song the status that it deserves," said Subash Mohapatra, convenor of Unnat Bharat Abhiyan.
Senior journalist Rabi Das said that if the government wants, there will not be any problem in according the state song tag to Bande Utkala Janani.
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Edited By Suryakant Jena