BJP threatens to sue BJD over party symbol conch in govt ad

BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday took strong exception to the use of the ruling Biju Janata Dal’s party symbol 'conch' in a recent government advertisement.

Accusing the BJD of using the party symbol in the government advertisement to woo voters and increase its vote bank, Opposition Chief Whip Mohan Majhi said, “We will oppose the use of the BJD party symbol in the government advertisement captioned ‘Ama Odisha Nabin Odisha.' We will also challenge it in that court of law. Since the BJD fears losing the 2024 Lok Sabha and assembly elections, it is using the conch symbol in government advertisements.”

Echoing the same, Leader of Opposition (LoP) Jayanarayan Mishra said, “These things come to the ruling BJD’s mind when any election is around the corner.  Of the total cost of Rs 4,000 crore sanctioned for ‘Ama Odisha Nabin Odisha’ scheme, 50 percent would go towards distributing percentage (PC).”

The BJP Lok Sabha member from Bhubaneswar, Aparajita Sarangi, said, “After ruling for 23 years, the programmes of the BJD are nothing but like old wine in a new bottle. The use of BJD’s party symbol in government advertisements is highly condemnable. People are no longer with the BJD. They don’t have any interest in the party’s activities. They (the BJD) are trying to do something new, to do something innovative and show something different. But what would they show? What should I say about the ideology of the party whose chief doesn’t want to wear his party’s badge and scarf?”

On the other hand, state higher education minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak said, “Conch is a symbol of sanctity. Ask them (the BJP) what they are calling the Jan Aushadhi scheme. It’s called Bharatiya Jan Aushadhi scheme. There is no question of branding the party. The programme is being carried out for the people. We are going to the people, but they can’t. So they are going to court.”