Bhubaneswar, Aug. 17: The BJP today paid tributes to two martyrs of the state as part of the party's ongoing Tiranga Yatra.
Union tribal affairs minister Jual Oram paid tributes to freedom fighter Veer Surendra Sai at his birthplace at Khinda village in Sambalpur district, while Union minister of state for consumer affairs Chhotu Ram Chaudhary paid his tributes to Baji Rout at Nilakanthapur village of Bhuban block in Dhenkanal district.
"People of today's generation are not aware of the history of the freedom movement, That's why our party has launched this programme," said Oram, while assuring to take up the demand for installation of Sai's statue on Parliament campus in New Delhi.
Surendra Sai, a royal scion, had led the freedom struggle against the British in the region in 1880s. He and his valiant associates were put behind the bars for several years. Sai died in Asirgarhjail in Sambalpur on February 28, 1884.
Baji Rout, a 12 year-old brave boy, had felled to the bullets of the British forces as he had refused to ferry them across Brahmani river on the night of October 11, 1938. Rout was a member of Prajamandal Movement against the Raj.
The BJP also has plans to pay respect to Chandan Hajuri, popularly known as Chakhi Khuntia, on Saturday as part of the Tiranga Yatra programme. The programme will continue till August 23. Union telecommunication minister Manoj Sinha will visit Khuntia's birthplace in Puri on the concluding day.
The BJP leaders have been invoking the memory of the sons of the soil wherever they address a rally or public meeting in Odisha.
In the run up to 2014 general elections, Narendra Modi had began his election campaign speech in the local dialect in Sambalpur on March 14, 2014. He had invoked the presiding deity of the region, Samaleswari, and freedom fighter Sai on that occasion.
At a party event in Bargarh on February 21 this year, Modi recalled the sacrifices of revolutionaries Sai, Kunjal Singh, Birsa Majhi and Rendo Majhi and also famous poets Gangadhar Meher and Bhima Bhoi.
At a rally in Balasore on June 2 this year, the Prime Minister had paid tributes to Fakir Mohan Senapati, Bagha Jatin, Harekrushna Mahtab and Laxmikanta Mohapatra.
At the launch ceremony of Paradip oil refinery on February 7, Modi took special care to mention the names of former chief ministers and architects of modern Odisha Harekrushna Mahtab and Biju Patnaik.
Incidentally, the Central government has also announced that it will celebrate the birth centenary of Biju. However, the Central government is yet to organise any programme to celebrate the leader's birth anniversary.
