New Delhi: A delegation of Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MPs Saturday met Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi and sought withdrawal of controversial draft bylaws by National Monuments Authority (NMA) regarding Lingaraj and Brahmeswar temples in Bhubaneswar.
The delegation comprising Lok Sabha MPs Pinaki Misra, Bhartruhari Mahtab, Anubhav Mohanty, Manjulata Mandal and Rajya Sabha MPs Sujeet Kumar and Bhaskar Rao met Union ministers Pralhad Joshi and Arjun Ram Meghwal on the direction of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and demanded the withdrawal of the controversial draft bylaws.
“We met Union Parliamentary Affairs minister as the Culture Minister Prahlad Singh Patel was not in Delhi. Prahlad Joshi promised us that he would look into the matter and resolve it,” said Pinaki Misra adding that whenever government seeks support of the BJD on various bills, they convey it through Pralhad Joshi and that is why the BJD delegation met Joshi in the absence of Patel.
Misra also said that the Culture minister had promised the BJD to withdraw three draft notifications. However, the Centre hasn’t withdrawn the draft notification issued for Lingaraj and Brahmeshwar temples.
Misra also said that there is no permanent director or chairman of NMA and a junior officer is creating such confusion.