National icon status for Odisha legend Biju

Sambad English Bureau Published On : Apr 26, 2015 at 11:04 AM Updated On : Apr 26, 2015 at 11:05 AM

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Apr 26:

The Centre has decided to accord national icon status to former Odisha chief minister Biju Patnaik among 10 other personalities of the country.

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While the names of the seven icons were announced on Thursday, the names of the remaining icons will be announced later.

The six other names announced are Jana Sangh leader Deendayal Upadhyay, Hindi writer Bhisham Sahni, freedom fighter Lala Lajpat Rai, Maharana Pratap, 1857 rebellion hero Tantya Tope and Naga spiritual leader Rani Gaidinliu.

The Centre has decided to commemorate the birthdays of these icons at the national level in 2015 and 2016.

Since the birthday of Biju Patnaik is March 5, the Centre would commemorate his birthday from next year.

To monitor the birthday celebrations of these national icons, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has formed a national implementation committee led headed by Union home minister Rajnath Singh.

Union Finance minister Arun Jaitley, Union HRD minister Smriti Irani and Union Culture minister Mahesh Sharma are the other members of the panel.