BJP State spokesperson Lekhashri Samantsinghar on Tuesday drew ire of leaders cutting across party lines for her controversial statement that people of other parts of the country got to know about pilgrim town Puri being in Odisha only after her party national spokesperson Sambit Patra contested for Member of Parliament from the constituency in the 2019 elections.
Addressing party workers at an event here, Samantsinghar said people used to think that Puri is in Kolkata, but they came to know about the town being in Odisha only after Patra contested from there. Soon after a video clip of her statement went viral on social media, leaders of different parties slammed Samantsinghar for her claim. BJD MP Amar Patnaik said, “First, BJP national vice-president Baijayant Panda compared Odisha with Pakistan; and now, Samantsinghar is giving such a statement.
It is an insult to Odisha and the land of Jagannath, the Lord of the Universe. Even a three-year-old child knows where Puri is, the humble abode of Lord Jagannath. Make no mistake; He is the lord of Kolkata as well.” Similarly, Congress MLA Suresh Routray said Lord Jagannath is Himalaya and Sambit Patra is not even a dirt before Him. “Why is she even comparing? Has she lost her mind,” Routray questioned. Khandapada BJD MLA Soumya Ranjan Patnaik said, “In my experience, whenever people outside the State used to ask me where is Odisha, I used to tell them about Puri and people would easily understand and recognise.
Puri BJD MP Pinaki Misra, who defeated Sambit Patra in the elections, said, Puri and the Lord’s abode have been the pride of Odisha from times immemorial and would remain so long after the arrogance of some is swept away into the Bay of Bengal.