Bhubaneswar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday paid rich tributes to former Chief Minister and legendary leader of Orissa late Biju Patnaik on his 101st birth anniversary and said he had positively impacted many lives.
“On his birth anniversary, I pay my tributes to the beloved Biju Babu. He served society with diligence and positively impacted many lives,” Modi tweeted.
Biju Patnaik, who was born on this day in 1916, was a two-time Chief Minister of Orissa.
Revered by many as ‘Sher-e-Utkal’ (Lion of Orissa), Biju Patnaik was initially in the Congress but he left the party after differences with Indira Gandhi and floated a regional party named ‘Utkal Congress’. Later, he was a part of the Janata Dal till his demise in 1997.
His son and current Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik subsequently split Janata Dal and founded Biju Janata Dal.
Similarly, Union ministers Jual Oram, Dharmendra Pradhan, BJP state president Basant Panda, Pradesh Congress president Prasad Harichandan also offered their tributes to the great leader.
“My tributes to the legendary leader Biju Babu on his birth anniversary. He was a true statesman and son of the soil,” twitted Oram, while Pradhan said, “My reverence to the former chief minister of Orissa Biju Patnaik.”
A host of programmes were organised across the state to mark Biju Patnaik’s 101st birth anniversary. In the state capital Bhubaneswar, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik flagged off a mini-marathon from Biju Patnaik Park to Kalinga Stadium to mark the occasion.
A motorcycle rally was organised here from Ram Mandir Square to the BJD party office and the student wing BJD conducted a blood donation camp. The women wing of the party distributed fruits among the patients in the Capital Hospital.
At another function, the Chief Minister garlanded the statue of the statesman on the state Assembly premises. Another mini-marathon was also flagged off from the ancestral house of Biju Patnaik, Ananda Bhawan, in Cuttack.
In Paradip too, the late leader’s birth anniversary was celebrated in a big way with the CM in attendance.
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