Pradhan plea over Paika memorial

BHUBANESWAR: Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday made a strong plea to the State Government for construction of a memorial of noted freedom fighter Buxi Jagabandhu Bidyadhar Mohapatra at Barunei near Khurda to commemorate the Paika Rebellion.
Inaugurating a three-day function on Martial Tradition and Culture to mark the bi-centenary celebration of Paika rebellion, considered to be the First War of Independence against British rule in the country, Pradhan said this is high time for the people of the State to restore the lost glory of the State.

“Apart from discussing the issue with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, I had also written to him seeking his cooperation for developing Barunei, the epicentre of the first freedom struggle, as a memorial centre of the great historical movement,” Pradhan said.Lamenting that Paika rebellion has not been given due justice in the pages of history, the Union Minister said it is the responsibility of the State Government to take necessary steps for rewriting the history to preserve the historical facts.

Pradhan called upon political parties to stay above politics and fight for the cause which is of considerable significance to the posterity. He, however, thanked the State Government for celebrating the occasion though belatedly.“We must take a firm resolve to build a statue of Buxi Jagabandhu at Barunei hill which will be in no way less than the Statue of Unity dedicated to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in Gujarat or Chhatrapati Shivaji, the founder the Maratha Empire, in Maharashtra,” Pradhan said.

Addressing the function organised by National Council of Martial Tradition here, senior Congress leader and former minister Niranjan Patnaik said while the history of Odisha is replete with stories of such great fighters, the State is still considered to be the poorest in the country despite abundant natural resources and huge workforce.“We must introspect what went wrong and what should be done to bring back the lost glory of the State,” Patnaik said.

He thanked Pradhan for taking the Paika rebellion issue to the Centre and successfully celebrating the bi-centenary of Paika rebellion at national level with the due approval of the Central Government.
Senior BJP leader and former Minister Biswa Bhusan Harichandan also demanded that the history of freedom movement should be rewritten so that the contribution made by freedom fighters like Buxi Jagabandhu, Dharanidhar Nayak and Vir Surendra Sai will be duly recognised.