BJP in Odisha plans mega celebrations on first anniversary of Mohan Majhi govt

Hindustan Times

04-06-2025

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Odisha, under chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi, is set to celebrate their first anniversary with a host of events starting Thursday, which includes high-profile events, cultural programmes and development initiatives ahead of a major state-level function on June 12.
Some of the planned events during this period are exclusive dinners with the chief minister for corporate leaders, civil society members, MPs/MLAs, and media personnel. A mega outreach programme talking about the achievements of the Majhi government, a 5-minute theme song and a 25-minute long thematic audio-visual documentary are also part of the celebrations.
'The centerpiece of the celebrations will be a grand state-level function scheduled for June 12 at Janata Maidan in Bhubaneswar which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to attend. It would be held at the same scale as the launch of the Subhadra scheme for Odisha women by PM Modi on September 17 last year,' said an official familiar with the events.
The official said specially branded vans will go around all the 314 blocks of Odisha from June 5-19 to amplify the government's achievements and raise awareness among people about key governance reforms, flagship schemes and public service delivery initiatives.
From next week, celebrations will be held across the state with thematic state-level functions. On June 13, a programme on women will be held in Berhampur, while on June 18, a function dedicated to youths will take place in Dhenkanal. Similarly, a programme on tribals is slated for Mayurbhanj on June 19 followed by a special event for farmers in Bargarh district on June 20.
The government's monthly magazine, Pragati Prabaha, will feature success stories of various government departments on themes like women empowerment, agriculture, industries, Odia asmita, governance, health, education, infrastructure, and sports. The tourism department will highlight achievements in in-flight magazines and display promotional content at major airports during the Rath Yatra period later this month.
The Odia language and literature department will organise an artist camp on the theme 'Vision Odisha @2036', engaging institutions like Lalit Kala Akademi. A series of theatre performances at Rabindra Mandap will be held between June 12 and June 19 to celebrate Odisha's stalwarts like Madhusudan Das, Fakir Mohan Senapati, Sara Das, Bhima Bhoi and Rama Devi. In Jaydev Bhawan of Bhubaneswar, classic Odia films like Abhiman, Sesha Shrabana, and Sita Bibaha will be screened and other key locations like Berhampur, Rourkela, and Sambalpur. Musical evenings at Bhanja Kala Mandap will pay tribute to singing legends like Bhikari Bal and Akshaya Mohanty.
The Panchayati Raj and drinking water department will organise Vikas Melas and Pallishree Melas across districts, while the Mission Shakti department will host a traditional food festival to celebrate Odisha's culinary heritage. The school and mass education department will organise online essay and painting competitions on 'Vision Odisha @2036' and 'Viksit Bharat @2047'.
Slamming the elaborate celebration, opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) said the government should introspect. 'What has the government achieved in the last 1 year except renaming schemes started by Naveen Patnaik? Subhdara scheme has failed to make any impact and many farmers could not get ₹800 a quintal bonus for paddy. Law and order condition has worsened with reports of murders, rape and snatching becoming rampant. The government should focus more on work instead of bragging about their achievements,' said BJD spokesman Pratap Deb.
However, BJP state general secretary Jatin Mohanty said the BJD should be the last party to criticise BJP. 'The amount of money the previous government spent in projecting VK Pandian as successor to Naveen Patnaik would put the budget of a state government department to shame. In just about a year, we have managed to fulfil many of the promises that we made including the Subhadra scheme which was our promise to the women of the state. The celebration of one year is our way of reaching out to people and educating them about achievements of the government as well as development programmes that are in the pipeline,' Mohanty said.