Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will never accept Bharat Ratna or any other award for his father Biju Patnaik in return for any election or political alliance with the BJP, his close associate and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader V K Pandian has said. The former IAS officer, who has worked in Odisha for over 25 years, including as private secretary to the chief minister, also hit out at the central ministers from the state for having never spoken about the highest civilian award for the 'Pride of Odisha' and inspiration for every Odiya, Biju Patnaik.
«One of the biggest identities for Odisha is the courage and valour shown by Biju Babu. If you see two Odiyas in any part of the world if they speak about Odisha, they will end up speaking about Biju Babu,» Pandian told PTI in an interview here.
«They will either have tears or they will have emotions. That is the connect Biju Patnaik has with the people of Odisha. He was a freedom fighter, he has done so much for the country and the state. He is the architect of modern Odisha,» he added.
Pandian said Biju Patnaik has been honoured by Indonesia and the UK with great civilian honours but the Government of India has not done it.