As many as seven political parties would hold a State-wide agitation on April 28 to press for constitution of a language Commission and provision of punishments for proper implementation of the Orissa Official language Act in the State.
“Pressurised by the Bhasha Andolon, the State Government has only formulated rules for implementation of the Orissa Official language Act but are not implementing the same. Though the Bhasha Suraksha Sammilani has been demanding constitution of a language Commission and provision of punishment for implementation of the Act, the Government is yet to pay any heed.
Thus, the Government has betrayed all four crore Odia people,” alleged Sammilani president and former BJD MP Baishnab Charan Parida at a Press meet held here on Wednesday.
He said representative of seven political parties, BJP, Congress, CPI, CPM, CPI (Ml), SUCI, Trinamool Congress, RPI, Utkal Bharat, RJD and Samajwadi Party would meet at a meeting to be held here on April 17 to carve out strategy for a State-wide agitation to be held on Utkal Gaurav Madhusudan Das’ birthday on April 28. Apart from political leaders, youths, students, teachers, farmers and working class people would too join the April 17 meeting, Parida said.
Among others, BJP leader Bishwabhushan Harichandan, Congress’ Niranjan Patnaik, CPM’s Shibaji Patnaik, CPI’s Basant Paikaraya, TMC leader Aryakumar Jnanendra, CPI(Ml)’s Mahendra Parida, RPI’s Abdul Wali, former Chief Secretary Sahdev Sahoo, Bhasha Surakshya Sammilani vice-president Prof Nityananda Shatapathy and former Justice Hrudya Ballav Das were present.