BY SANJEEB KUMAR SAHOO
On his 29th death anniversary, lawmakers and senior politicians from the AAP, YSR Congress, RJD, DMK, and BJD pay rich tributes to Bijayananda (Biju) Patnaik, who once said, ‘In my dream of the 21st century for the State (Odisha), I would have young men and women who put the interests of the State before themselves.
Biju Patnaik,who is remembered as a symbol of courage, determination, and #Odia pride, died on April 17, 1997.
I believe that for the first time in New Delhi’s Constitutional Club on April 17, the BJD organised a death anniversary commemoration with floral tributes meeting in which leaders from various political parties paid tributes to Bijayananda (Biju) Patnaik on his 29th death anniversary and event, which was made possible by sitting BJD Rajya Sabha MPs Subhashish Khuntia, Santrupt Misra, and Dr. Sasmit Patra.
In addition to Subhashish Khuntia, Santrupt Misra, and Dr. Sasmit Patra, the event was attended by current BJD Rajya Sabha MP Debashish Samantaray, as well as former BJD Rajya Sabha MPs Munna Khan and Niranjan Bishi.
The floral tributes meeting was also attended by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MPs Swati Maliwal and Sanjay Singh, RJD Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Kumar Jha, YSR Congress Party Rajya Sabha MPs Ayodhya Rami Reddy, Golla Babu Rao, Pilli Subhash Chandra Bose, and DMK Rajya Sabha MP Tiruchi Siva.
Biju Patnaik was born in Cuttack, Odisha, on March 5, 1916, to Lakshminarayan and Ashalata Patnaik. He received his early education at Mission Primary School and Mission Christ Collegiate in Cuttack, and he also studied Aeronautics at the Aeronautical Training Institute of India.
Biju Patnaik was also instrumental in Indonesia’s struggle for independence from the Dutch in 1947. The same indomitable spirit drove him to fly Indonesian freedom fighters to India, despite the threat of being shot down by Dutch colonial rulers.
He began his political career and entered Odisha politics in 1946, when he was elected to the Odisha Legislative Assembly from Cuttack, central Odisha.
In 1961, he became the president of the state Congress. Under his leadership, the Congress Party won 82 of 140 seats, and Patnaik became Odisha’s chief minister, a position he held until October 2, 1963, when he resigned under the Kumaraswami Kamaraj Plan to revitalise the Congress Party. He was Odisha’s Chief Minister at the age of 45.
From 1961 to 1963 and from 1990 to 1995, he was the Chief Minister of Odisha twice. In addition, he served as India’s 14th Steel and Mines and 1st Coal Union Minister from 1979 to 1980 and from 1977 to 1979. From 1977 to 1985, he represented Kendrapara in the Lok Sabha. Naveen Patnaik, a former state chief minister, is his son.
Biju Patnaik was close to Indira Gandhi, who took over the Congress Party in 1967. However, they clashed in 1969 over the Presidential election. He left Congress and founded the Utkal Congress, a regional political party. In the 1971 assembly election, his party performed reasonably well.
Patnaik then reconnected with his old friend Jayaprakash Narayan and joined the JP movement as it gained momentum in 1974. When the Emergency was declared in 1975, Biju Patnaik was among the first to be arrested, along with other opposition leaders. He was released and elected to the Lok Sabha from Kendrapara in 1977, and he served as Union Minister for Steel and Mines under Morarji Desai and Choudhary Charan Singh’s governments until 1979.
Before I conclude, I would like to say that Bijayananda (Biju) Patnaik, a true statesman, freedom fighter, and illustrious son of India, is the architect of modern Odisha and the tallest leader of post-independence Odisha. Biju Patnaik, known as Biju Babu to millions of his admirers both during his lifetime and after his death, is an iconic figure in Odisha and is widely admired throughout India for his courage, idealism, statesmanship, and dedication to the cause of the common man. People in Odisha lovingly refer to him as the Hero of Kalinga and the Kharavela of Kalinga. He was a man who created history, changed history and shaped history.
