By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, August 8, 2022: Union home minister Amit Shah on Monday said the “acche din (good days)” of Odisha have come with unprecedented representation of the state at the national level.

Speaking at an event to mark the 75th anniversary of Odia daily Prajatantra in Cuttack, Shah said Odias occupy top posts in the country like never before.

“President of India Droupadi Murmu, education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Reserve Bank of India governor Shaktikanta Das and minister of state for tribal affairs Bishweshwar Tudu, Odisha had never got such high representation since independence,” Shah said.

Shah also pointed out that the state has a large number of representatives at the top echelons of the country.

Shah asserted that the BJP-led Centre works in close coordination with the Naveen Patnaik-led government for the “holistic development” of the people of Odisha. The Centre, under the leadership of Narendra Modi, was trying to bring about “all-round development in Odisha, in close coordination with the BJD government”, he added.

Noting that Odisha has huge potential to emerge as a “state of possibilities”, Shah said, “There is a long coastline, rich mineral resources, forests and talented human resources here. I see a great future here.” Drawing a parallel between Odisha and his native state of Gujarat, he noted that Lord Jagannath is widely worshipped in the two states.

“Odisha is located in the east, Gujarat in the west. Lord Jagannath is the one who unites people of east and west,” Shah said.

Heaping praises on Dr Haremkrushna Mahtab, the founder of ‘Prajatantra’, for his contribution to freedom struggle, the home minister said that people will also remember him for his work to promote Odia literature.

Speaking at the event, chief minister Naveen Patnaik said the role of media in a democratic society can hardly be overemphasized. “It should endeavour to uphold our great cultural heritage and moral values and promote national integration and communal harmony. Media should discharge its duty without any fear or favour,” he said.

Naveen said media runs on the basis of people’s trust. It is therefore expected that media should prioritise the real issues of people rather than politics. Media essentially should be the voice of people.

Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan presided over the event.

Earlier, Shah visited Lingaraj temple, an 11th century Shiva Shrine and offered “Jalavishek” to the Lord on the last auspicious Monday of the holy month of Shravan kicking off his daylong programme.

Shah later launched “Modi@20: Dreams Meet Delivery,” in Bhubaneswar and praised the work done by the prime minister Narendra Modi in the last 20 years. “As soon as Modi ji took over as the Prime Minister of the country, he worked to find solutions to the country’s problems and successfully established the country’s pride in the whole world, that saga is Modi@ 20,” Amit Shah added.

It is Shah’s second visit to the state after he became the home minister.