The Utkal Sammilani is of the view that political will should not drive language and religion-related decisions in the interests of the State.
“An age-old tradition of the Rath Yatra in Puri broke due to the Government’s role vis-a-vis the Shankaracharya. The Utkal Sammilani does not work for a particular religion. But as Odisha has got an identity in the whole world for lord Jagannath and His Rath Yatra, the Sammilani doesn’t accept a childish decision which broke the long-followed tradition,” the Sammilani said in a statement.
Similarly, the Sammilani said that if a State-level Sahitya Academy and Sangeet Natak Academy based on the Koshali, a spoken language in western Odisha, are formed, a debate on which language would be called Sambalpuri would then be inevitable.
“If decisions are taken without appropriate discussions and right political move then these will pose more problems in future instead of resolving them,” said Utkal Sammilani Bhubaneswar Branch President Bibhuti Mishra, Mancheswar Branch President Dillip Dashsharma, Vice-President Pratap Swain, Secretary Gobind Chandra Subuddhi, Er Siba Prasad Mishra, Bibhuti Swain and Ashok Kumar Palatasingh in the statement.