Members of a lawyers’ group collected signatures of Odias residing in four States in support for Bharat Ratna to Utkalgaurab Madhusudan Das posthumously.
Members, including Bijaya Kumar Sahu and Harish Das, led by lawyer Lingaraj Sahoo collected signatures from Mathura in Uttar Pradesh, Amritsar in Punjab and Haridwar in Uttarakhand.
The signature campaign, which started in Kolkata in 2018, has covered Andaman, Chennai, Karnataka and Mumbai.
“Many great leaders have been honoured with the coveted Bharata Ratna since 1954. But no Odia legendary has been given the award. Now it is right time to amend the historic injustice done to Odisha,” said Sahoo.
For his unbridled ambition, dedication and action with indomitable courage and intelligence, Madhubabu has carved a niche for himself in the heart and minds of millions of Odia people. Because of his tireless support and effort through the Utkal Sammilani, Odisha was formed with amalgamation of different Odia-lying tracts of the then Madras and Bengal Presidencies and Central Province. He was called as the real “Garibaldi” of Odisha. As a first Odia to be an MA, LLB, member of Provincial Legislative Council and Central Legislative Assembly and Minister, he was the first Odia to visit England for the sake of his mother land, said the members.
Besides this, Madhubabu was a pioneer of industrialisation, cooperative movement, social reformation like female education and abolition of caste in Odisha and even impressed Mahatma Gandhi during his visit to the State, they added.