Bhubaneswar: Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Odisha Assembly, Naveen Patnaik, did not attend the state-level celebration of legendary leader Biju Patnaik’s birth anniversary in the capital city here today. 

Naveen, a five-time former Chief Minister, skipped the state-level celebration of Biju’s birth anniversary at Jayadev Bhawan in the evening.

Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi had invited Naveen, the youngest son of the legendary leader, to the state level celebration of Biju’s birth anniversary.

Apart from Naveen, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MLAs—Ananta Narayan Jena and Susanta Rout—did not attend the state-level celebration. Mayor Sulochana Das too skipped the event.

Earlier in the day, Naveen was also absent in an event organised on the premises of Odisha Assembly to observe the birth anniversary of Biju, a former Chief Minister of Odisha.

However, Naveen attended an event at BJD headquarters in the city here to mark the birth anniversary of Biju.

Notably, the BJD government, led by Naveen, was celebrating Biju’s birth anniversary (March 5) as Panchayati Raj Diwas in Odisha.

However, the BJP government announced that it would observe Panchayati Raj Diwas on April 24 instead of celebrating the same on March 5.

According to the government, Odisha had been celebrating Panchayati Raj Diwas on March 5 since 2020. However, the National Panchayati Raj Day or National Local Self-Government Day is observed across the country on April 24. In order to remove this anomaly, the Odisha government has decided to celebrate the Panchayati Raj Diwas on April 24 instead of observing the same on March 5.

The BJD, however, alleged that the state government’s decision is politically motivated and it is an attempt to erase Biju’s legacy.