Bhubaneswar: Utkal Divas, the state's foundation day, turned into a game of one-upmanship between the BJD and the BJP here on Sunday. Both the BJD and the BJP held parallel programmes with chief minister Naveen Patnaik and Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan leading the show for their respective parties.
While Naveen inaugurated the 2.53km Madhusudan bridge over the Mahanadi connecting Cuttack and Nuapatna in Choudwar, the Union petroleum minister launched 'Nua Odisha Nirmana Abhijan' (the campaign for building new Odisha) at the Chandrabhaga beach, which is a stone's throw from the Sun Temple.
The event saw Upendra Maharana, the descendant of the great Bisu Maharana, who was the chief architect of the temple in Konark, administering oath for the development of Odisha to a large group of youths.
If Pradhan had got Upendra for his show, Naveen named the bridge over Mahanadi after Utkal Gaurav Madhusudan Das, one of the architects of modern Odisha.
Pradhan also inaugurated the Indian Oil Foundation sponsored Sun Temple beautification project at Konark. The Rs 45crore project also includes a bus terminus with a parking bay for 60 buses, a spacious car and two-wheeler parking lot and a pathway. The minister, who is trying hard to project his party as the champion of Odia pride, described Konark, a Unesco heritage site, as a scientific centre developed by humans some 700 years ago.
Naveen did not lag behind to showcase his government's efforts in taking Odisha forward and honouring its legends. Inaugurating the Madhusudan Setu, he said the bridge also represented the government's keenness to develop quality infrastructure.
While speaking at the state-level Utkal Divas event, Naveen also paid homage to state's eminent freedom fighters such as Utkalmani Gopabandhu Das, Pandit Godabarish Mishra and Gangadhar Meher. The chief minister took the opportunity to recount the achievements of his government in various fields, making particular mention of Bhubaneswar being recognised as a global smart city and Odisha figuring prominently in the Asian Development Bank's report on ease of doing business.
Invoking Lord Jagannath, emperor Kharavela and the mighty king Kapilendra Dev, the chief minister spoke of his government's efforts to promote Odia language and expressed his determination to continue his fight for Odia pride.
At a similar programme, Pradhan gave away awards to achievers in various fields, including Odisha's mountain man, Jalandhar Nayak, who has cut a road through a hill in Kandhamal.
Senior BJD leader and Rajya Sabha member Prasanna Acharya said if at all there was a competition between his party and the BJP it should not be to corner political glory, but to take the state forward.
"We must rise above politics in the larger interest of the state," he said.
Echoing Acharya, BJP national secretary Suresh Pujari, who is in favour of healthy competition between parties, said: "Only if we compete in the right spirit can the state move forward. We have been lacking on this front."
State Congress president Prasad Harichandan, however, was critical of both the BJP and the BJD. He accused them of indulging in the politics of opportunism. He also alleged that the Konark project had been conceived during the UPA regime.
