TNI Bureau: All the villages of Kotia panchayat belong to Odisha only and this is like the universal truth of sun and moon, said Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan during his visit to controversial areas today.
Pradhan was also seen asking the officials of Andhra Pradesh to leave the border of Odisha and never to enter the area again.
The Union Minister, who celebrated the Utkala Dibasa at Kotia, visited various places including schools, health centers, post offices, banks gurukula ashrams and temples in Fatusineri village of Kotia.
He also took part in the ‘Utkala Dibasa’ program organized by Kotia Gram Samiti. In his address, he said that April 1, 2023 is an unforgettable day for him as he celebrated the ‘Utkala Dibasa’ with the resident of Kotia Panchayat, sang the state anthem ‘Bande Utkal Janani’ and paid tributes to the great sons of the soil who had played a significant role in formation of a separate Utkal province.
“Today is not a day of conflict but a day of coming together of 4.5 crore Odia people. A day to make Odisha great and dream big for the State. In a democracy, opinions and disagreements will be different. But on a day like today’s Utkala Dibasa, we all come together not on the basis of party issues but like pulling the chariot of the Lord Jagannath during Rath Yatra,” Pradhan said during his address.
“If Andhra wants to covet the border areas of our motherland Odisha, we will strongly oppose it. We will not let the sacrifices of many great men like the Utkal Gauraba Madhusudan Das, Utkalmani Gopabandhu Das, Maharaja Sri Rama Chandra Bhanja Deva, Maharaja Krishnachandra Gajapati, Krushna Chandra Gajapati and others,” he added.