Subhas Chandra Pattanayak
Had there been no Orissa, Naveen Patnaik could never have been able to become the darling of POSCO and others that are bent upon to denude the State of her mineral resources.
Orissa became Orissa because of the sacrifices of one man whom we the entire nation of the Oriyas revere as KULA BRUDDHA, the grand old man of our race and also as UTKAL GAURAV, the pride of Orissa. He is Mr. Madhu Sudan Das.
Initiated by Dinabandhu Pattanayak of Ganjam district, the idea of reconstruction of Orissa by amalgamation of all the Oriya speaking tracks under British occupation was metamorphosed into a mass movement of matchless velocity by Mr. Das leading to formation of the first province of India on the basis of language. Therefore Madhu Sudan Das is rightly adored as the founding father of Orissa.
Today, April 28, is his birthday. In every nook and corner of Orissa people who love their motherland are observing this beloved day with the best of affection they can express in recalling the memories of any they love most.
The State administration organized a memorial meeting at Jaya Dev Bhawan, the State Information Center, in the evening. But, sadly noting, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, almost all of his cabinet colleagues and IAS officers of Orissa who usually stud various occasions as stars, were conspicuous by their absence in this meeting.
Presided over by the Secretary of Information & public Relations, the meeting was addressed by Energy Minister S.N.Patra.