Bhubaneswar: Former chief minister and freedom fighter Biju Patnaik was a true nationalist and a legend, said former President Pranab Mukherjee here Saturday.
“Truly, he was a nationalist from the beginning. I believe he was a legend in his lifetime. When he was honoured for the victory of 1961, I was not in politics. I was teaching political science in a degrees college when he had become a legend because of his contribution to various fields,” Mukharjee said addressing an event organised to launch the pictorial biography of Biju Patnaik.
Mukherjee unveiled the book The Tall Man Biju Patnaik in the presence of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, former prime minister HD Deve Gowda, former deputy prime minister LK Advani and CPM leader Sitaram Yechury. The biography was authored by researcher Sundar Ganesan and senior journalist Prabhu Chawla reviewed it. The event was hosted by Biju Patnaik Birth Centenary Committee at Utkal Mandap here.
“He was not limited to the geography of Orissa alone. He belonged to the masses as a Tall Man he had represented the country and perhaps he was a member of international community,” Mukherjee said. Paying glowing tributes to Biju Patnaik “who never knew fear in life” he also shared Biju’s role in establishing the Nalco plant at Damanjodi in Koraput.
Former prime minister Deve Gowda who attended the event, said Biju was a statesman par excellence who went to Indonesia to rescue some leaders. Congratulating the biographer for the pains he had taken to gather information for the book, The book unravels unknown facts, and it deserves to be adopted as a textbook.
“He played a major role in making me Chief Minister of Karnataka and also the prime minister,’’ he said and suggested translation of the book in various Indian languages. He also urged the Union Government to confer Bharat Ratna on the former CM.
Addressing the gathering, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said, “It was an emotional moment for me. Your love and affection for Biju Babu have made me feel the presence of my father.”
“He cut across party lines, regions, ideologies and age groups and what brings us together this evening is the love we have for him,” Naveen said.
PNN
