Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi stated on Wednesday that former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, through his impactful work and decisive actions, showcased a path of rapid development for the country.
On Good Governance Day, celebrated in honor of Vajpayee’s birth anniversary, Majhi highlighted the significant role the former prime minister played in advancing development both nationally and in Odisha. He said, “Big projects, such as the construction of the Golden Quadrilateral and the road network connecting villages through the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, exemplify his commitment to development. Additionally, his decisive actions, demonstrated through initiatives like Pokhran-II and the Kargil war, highlight his courage.”
Majhi also noted that during Vajpayee’s tenure, he laid the foundation for several important projects, including the establishment of AIIMS Bhubaneswar, the oil refinery in Paradip, and the creation of the East Coast Railway (ECoR) division and its headquarters in Bhubaneswar in 2003. Furthermore, Vajpayee officially recognized Santhali—a tribal language in Odisha—by including it in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
The Chief Minister emphasized that Vajpayee stood firmly with the people of Odisha during the devastating supercyclone of 1999, visiting the state to assure adequate funding for disaster recovery efforts.
“Inspired by Vajpayee, our ‘double-engine government’ is diligently working to create a new, developed, and prosperous Odisha,” he stated. The term “double engine” refers to the BJP party being in power both at the Central and state levels.
Majhi also reported that in the past six months, his government has made several significant decisions, including reopening four gates of the Jagannath temple in Puri, establishing a corpus fund for the temple, extending financial assistance to women through the ‘Subhadra Yojana,’ and procuring paddy at a rate of Rs 3,100 per quintal. Additionally, the state has begun the process of filling 1.5 lakh vacant government positions.
On this occasion, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan unveiled a statue of Vajpayee in Burla, Sambalpur district, while State Minister K. C. Mohapatra inaugurated another statue of the former Prime Minister in Udala, Mayurbhanj district. To commemorate the day, the state unit of the BJP honored four eminent individuals with the ‘Atal Samman’ award. The Chief Minister, alongside BJP state president Manmohan Samal, presented the awards to former minister Bimbadhar Kanhar, poet Kananbala Patnaik, senior journalist Rajaram Satpathy, and social activist Rudra Narayan Mohapatra.
