Bhubaneswar: With Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi’s intervention, the State Government today clarified that the name of Biju Patnaik Sports Award will not be changed.
The Sports and Youth Services Department on Friday issued guidelines for this year’s award, renaming it ‘Rajya Krida Samman’.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and Sports Minister Suryabanshi Suraj have come with clarifications today. The Chief Minister said his government has not taken any formal decision to drop Biju Patnaik’s name from the award.
“My government respects the sons of the soil and therefore, there will be no change in the title of the sports award named after Biju Patnaik,” he said, noting that he came to know about the renaming from the press.
Stating that Biju Patnaik’s contribution towards the state and the country was memorable, Shri Majhi said, “Biju Patnaik Sports Award will continue as it is.”
Similarly, the Sports Minister said he has all due respect for Biju Patnaik and his department is trying to give all respect to all legendary leaders of the State. As per Chief Minister’s statement, the name of Biju Patnaik Sports Award will not be changed, he clarified.
The opposition BJD headed by Biju Patnaik’s son Naveen Patnaik had criticized the BJP government for renaming the award.
Senior BJD MLA Arun Sahoo had said that Biju Patnaik, a noted aviator and a former CM of the state, was not an individual but an institution.
“He was a national asset and was honoured by three different countries. By removing his name from a sports award, what does the BJP government want to prove?” he had asked.