Opposition Congress and BJP had a dig at CM Naveen Patnaik when he laid foundation-stone of an Odia University on Tuesday.
State Congress president Niranjan Patnaik and senior party leader Srikant Jena, while welcoming the move, sought to ridicule the Chief Minister with their remark that he should get admitted to the university to learn Odia.
Senior BJP leader Biswabhusan Harichandan said the CM’s act of establishment of the proposed university lacks sincerity as he has not been able to speak in Odia though ruling the State for 19 long years.
While non-Odia IAS officers in Odisha learn Odia in six months of their joining the service, Naveen Patnaik has no sincerity in learning the State’s language, he added.