BJD demands equestrian statue of Buxi Jagabandhu in Parliament

Bhubaneswar: Demanding installation of an equestrian statue of Buxi Jagabandhu in Parliament House Complex, BJD Parliamentary party chief in Lok Sabha, Bhartruhari Mahtab today said it will lead to resentment among Odisha people if the statue is not installed.

In a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker, Mahtab stated that the people of Odisha can't picture the legendary leader without a horse. " If the equestrian statue of Buxi Jagabandhu Bidyadhar is not allowed to be installed in Parliament along with Chhatrapati Shivaji, Maharana Pratap, Mahatma Basaveshwara, Saheed Durga Malla and Maharaja Ranjit Singh, it will stoke widespread resentment among people of Odisha," Mahtab stated in his letter.

Bhartruhari maintained that this is the appropriate time for installation as the country is celebrating 200th year of Paika Uprising led by Buxi Jagabandhu to commemorate the contribution of Paikas in freedom struggle of India.

The letter further read a joint committee had rejected the request of Odisha government to install the statue in 2005 even though equestrian statues have been installed after 2003. The Odisha government had also offered a statue of Buxi Jagabandhu in 2003, the letter read.