A court order to demolish the Samadhi of former Chief Minister Biju Patnaik at the Swargadwar here within three months has been resented by the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) while the Congress wants execution of the judicial verdict.
Puri BJD MlA and ex-law Minister Maheswar Mohanty on Saturday said the Government was not given an opportunity to place its view in the case filed for demolition of the Samadhi. The Government would now make an appeal in the court to take it as a party in the litigation. BJD spokesperson and MlA Samir Dash said the court’s order was yet to be studied and necessary steps would be taken after the order is analysed.
leader of Opposition in the State Assembly, senior Congress leader and former law Minister Narasingha Mishra said the court order has pointed to any illegality in location of the Samadhi, it should be executed; failing which it would be contempt of court. Congress leader and former Chief Minister JB Patnaik said he is strongly opposed to building any Samadhi in the famous burial ground of Swargadwar.
It may be pointed out that a Puri civil court has ordered the Puri district Collector and the Puri Municipality to demolish the Biju Patnaik Samadhi at the Swargadwar, the cremation ground for Hindus here, within three months. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, it may be noted, had paid floral tributes at his late father Biju Patnaik’s tomb as recently as on New Year’s Day as he does on some other annual occasions. In her judgment in the case on December 27, Civil Judge (Junior Division) Sreemoyi Acharya also warned that the court would initiate action in accordance with law if the district administration fails to act on the order.
Adjudicating a case field by lawyer Ramesh Prasad Singh and two others way back in 1999, the court ordered that no construction unwarranted by public purpose can take place inside the Swargadwar premises. Seeking the court’s early intervention in the matter, the petitioners had said that the area of the Swargadwar Ghat, used by the Hindus from across the country, has been reduced to only 0.46 decimals after the construction of the Biju Samadhi.
“There would be no space left for the common people to perform the last rites if Samadhis of important persons or political leaders are allowed to be constructed,” they had pointed out. Petitioner Singh hailed the judgment that came nearly 16 years after he filed the case. “I have the highest regard for Biju Patnaik, but his memorial should be built elsewhere and not at a place where the bodies of Hindus are cremated,” he said.
Curiously, the district administration and the Puri Municipality have sought to wash their hands off the whole issue saying they had no role in the construction of the 40X40-ft Biju Patnaik Samadhi. District Collector Arabind Agarwal said he has not yet seen the court order and would take appropriate action after perusing it.
However, some pro-BJD lawyers have stated that the order of the lower court can be challenged in higher legal forums like the District Court, High Court and Supreme Court.