Bhubaneswar: Opposition parties, including the BJP and the Congress as well Odia language activists, have termed the Naveeen Patnaik government's move to promote Odia at this juncture as a political gimmick.

Its only object is to hoodwink the people, they alleged. However, the BJD said no one should see a political angle behind the government's move to promote Odia.

On Tuesday, the state government had decided to constitute a heritage cabinet to ensure conservation and promotion of Odisha's culture, heritage, language and literature.

Senior BJP leader Biswabhusan Harichandan accused Naveen Patnaik of having no respect for the language. "What has he done so far for the promotion of Odia language in the past 20 years? He can't even speak in the language and is unable to understand the language of his people. Since he does not understand the problems of people, he has failed in doing justice to them," Harichandan said.

He further stated the move had been made to befool people. "The Naveen government has failed on all fronts and is under attack from people. The party is trying to divert attention," he said.

Pradesh Congress Committee president Prasad Harichandan said: "There is nothing new in it. The J.B. Patnaik government had introduced all the provisions in 1996 to enforce Odia in official work. What this government has done so far?"

He alleged that the state government had no sincerity to implement the cabinet decision.

"Earlier, there was the law to implement Odisha Public Library Act in 2002. But over the years, it has not been implemented," he said, adding that the only objective behind the move was to get votes.

Odia language activist Subash Chandra Patnaik, who is undertaking a movement to enforce Odia in official work, said: "This is only a word acrobatics. We strongly oppose the government's move to constitute a language commission. We want a language adalat, headed by a district-level judge who has the authority to give punishment," said Patnaik.

Similarly, the detail of punishment has not been spelt out. "An attempt has been made to loot government money by language mafia in the name of translation work," he said.

BJD chief whip Amar Prasad Satpathy said: "The Opposition finds politics everywhere. When it comes to Odia language, all such talks should be stopped."