Bhubaneswar, June 12: Former Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Niranjan Patnaik today asked Biju Janata Dal (BJD) supremo and chief minister Naveen Patnaik either to learn Odia or leave the state.

Patnaik also demanded a CBI inquiry into industrialist-turned-Congress MP Naveen Jindal’s links with the Odisha government.

Taking a dig at Naveen for holding the ‘Swabhiman Samavesh’ in New Delhi in support of the demand for special category status for Odisha, the Congress leader said: “It is ironical that a chief minister, and the only one in Indian history, who cannot speak or write the state’s official language, is talking of Odia swabhiman (self pride).”

Patnaik said: “He has no right to talk about Odia swabhiman. Movements should begin to put pressure on him to leave Odisha (Odisha chhodo). We are all in support of the special category state status being accorded to the state. The Congress-led UPA is taking steps to revise the existing guildelines so that Odisha could be included in the list of special category states.”

Patnaik said as the matter of special category state was under consideration by an expert committee headed by Raghuram Rajan, Naveen’s rally in New Delhi is a gimmick to hoodwink people.

“The chief minister wrote letters twice to the Centre for alloting coal blocks to Jindal company. All these should be inquired too,” he said, while referring to the raids related to coal scam on Jindal group’s offices.

Patnaik also shot off a letter to Union law minister Kapli Sibal suggesting an amendment to “the Article 173 (of the Constitution) to make it mandatory for all members of a state Assembly to be able to read, write and speak the language of that state.

“It is astoundingly ironical that a person cannot become a sarpanch in Odisha without knowing Odia, but he can be an MLA, minister or even chief minister. The loophole in the constitution needs to be plugged by the suitable amendment to the Article 173 of the Constitution,” said Patnaik.

BJD senior leader and higher education minister Badri Narayan Patra said: “Why has Niranjan babu raised the question at this point? Naveen babu knows the language. He speaks Odia and writes the language too. Niranjan babu can talk to the chief minister in Odia, if he so desires.”