Members across party lines on Monday demanded in the State Assembly that a special session of the House be convened for holding sdiscussions on various aspects pertaining to the State’s plan to celebrate 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi for two years.
Raising the issue during the Zero Hour, Congress Legislature Party Leader Narasingha Mihsra wanted to the know why the Gandhi Jayanti Celebration Committee headed by Chief
Minister Naveen Patnaik has not met long and its plans Gandhi Jayatni celebrations.
He ridiculed saying that leaders of some parties liking ideologies of Gandhi’s killer Nathuram Gadse are now in power and have built a temple of Godse. They are praying Godse as their god. This way, efforts are being made to diminish the ideologies of Gandhi, he said.
He urged the Government to introduce courses on Mahatma Gandhi from primary to university level.
He too wanted that the upcoming Gandhi Jayanti October 2 should not be declared as a holiday and debates on Gandhi be held among students.
To this, BJP member Bishnu Charan Sethi said the RSS and the BJP should not be linked to Godse as they were in no way linked to him. Godse was a member of Hindu Mahasabha. He demanded that a special Assembly session be convened for holding discussions on Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti.
Leader of Opposition Pradipta Kumar Naik demanded that the Godse-relates statements made by Mishra he expunged from the recordings of the House.
BJD member Amar Prasas Satpathy demanded that all places in Odisha visited by Mahatma Gandhi be declares as tourism sites. While Atanua Sabyasachi Nayak demanded for convening of special Assembly session, Debi Prasad Mihsra and Bhupinder Singh demanded the Ahmisha be added to the Preamble of the Constitution.
BJP Chief Whip Mohan Charan Majhi demanded that total prohibition be enforced in the State from October 2.