Bhubaneswar: In an evening high on nostalgia, the likes of former President Pranab Mukherjee, former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda and BJP leader L.K. Advani went down the memory lane recalling their association with Biju Patnaik, father of chief minister Naveen Patnaik, and the larger-than-life persona of the man widely hailed as the builder of modern Odisha.
Releasing the book The Tall Man Biju Patnaik at Utkal Mandap here, Mukherjee, who shared the dais with Deve Gowda, Advani and CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury, recalled the leader's speech in Parliament when he (Mukherjee) was a junior minister in the India Gandhi cabinet.
"He told me jokingly that we will never be able to earn more," said the former President, adding that Biju babu's terse remark was a commentary on the then government's approach to economic issues. The same Biju Patnaik, however, co-operated with him fully years later when Mukherjee became deputy chairperson of the Planning Commission. With Biju's support, he worked out a formula for better distribution of resources among the states.
Describing his speech as a "tribute of a short man to a tall man", he said Biju babu was a visionary, who had a major role to play in the setting up of public sector giants such as National Aluminium Company Limited (Nalco).
Deve Gowda was candid enough to admit that Biju babu played a big role in making him the Karnataka chief minister and later the Prime Minister. "He was truly a tall man both in terms of his physical height and his stature in politics," he said.
Both Deve Gowda and Advani thanked Sundar Ganesan, the author of the book, for bringing to light many interesting facets of Biju's life. "This is the grandest setting I have ever seen for a book release ceremony," said Advani.
Yechury recalled the role of Biju babu during the United Front (UF) days and the encouragement he received from him as a young leader at the UF steering committee meetings. "Whenever there was a problem, he would come up to me and assure me that everything was going to be alright and that secularism in India would be safe," reminisced Yechuri.
Former chief ministers Giridhari Gamang and Hemanand Biswal, CPM veteran Shivaji Patnaik were also there. Congress MLAs Prakash Behera and Anshuman Mohanty, BJP leaders Bijay Mohapatra and Biswabhushan Harichandan attended the launch.
Chief minister Naveen Patnaik lent the occasion a touch of emotion when he thanked the guests on the dais for making him "feel my father's presence". Describing his father as a "great institution", he said: "Biju babu was the idea of Odia self-esteem and reflected the aspirations of the Odias."
