As Murmu becomes NDA's Prez poll nominee, BJP says PM Modi gives prominence to Odias

After the NDA picked Droupadi Murmu, a daughter of Odisha, as its candidate for the upcoming Presidential election, the BJP unit of the state has asserted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi continued to give prominence to Odias as part of his focus on East India.

BJP Odisha president Samir Mohanty claimed that Odias got key positions in the central government after Modi became the PM in 2014.

Referring to the selection of Murmu as the NDA's presidential election candidate, he said, “On behalf of the 4.5 crore people of Odisha, the state unit of BJP thanks the prime minister.” If elected, Murmu will be the first Odia to hold the country's topmost constitutional post, apart from being the first tribal President.

Though former President V V Giri was born in Berhampur town in Odisha’s Ganjam district, he hailed from a Telugu-speaking family. He was the fourth President of India who was in office from August 24, 1969, to August 24, 1974.

Mohanty told reporters that Murmu, a resident of the tribal-dominated Mayurbhanj district, was earlier appointed as the governor of Jharkhand. She was in that post from 2015 to 2021.

He said that Modi had appointed Girish Chandra Murmu, who also hailed from Odisha, as the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).

A 1985 batch IAS officer of the Gujarat cadre, GC Murmu was Principal Secretary to Modi when he was chief minister of Gujarat. He also became the first Lieutenant Governor of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370.

Several other Odia officers were posted in key positions in several ministries after Modi became the prime minister, Mohanty said.

A 1972 batch IAS officer of Gujarat cadre, PK Mishra who hails from Odisha, is the Principal Secretary at PMO since September 2019.

Similarly, Shaktikant Das is the first from the state to serve as the Governor of the Reserve Bank. A 1970 batch IAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre, Das was deputed to the Centre in 2014.

Other Odia persons who are in high positions in the central government include the Director-General of India Metrological Department (IMD) Dr. Mrutunjay Mohapatra and the Director-General of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) Satyanarayan Pradhan.

There are three MPs from the state, who are in the council of ministers headed by Modi. While Dharmendra Pradhan and Ashwini Vaishnaw are Cabinet ministers, Bisheswar Tudu is a minister of state.

Mohanty said that the Modi government has conferred many Padma awards on eminent persons from the state.