The Odisha government has decided to install statues of eminent personalities including the murdered Vishva Hindu Parishad leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati.

Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and four associates were gunned down at Jaleshpeta Ashram in Kandhamal district on August 23, 2008, during Janmashtami celebrations, leading to widespread violence which forced the BJD to snap its 11 year- old alliance with the BJP.

However, the Majhi government is yet to decide the location where the statue of Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati will be installed.

The BJP continues to gain political leverage by highlighting the brutal murder of Saraswati even 13 years after his death. The BJP won the Kandhamal Lok Sabha seat, even Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a public meeting at Kandhamal. Before the elections, BJP National president JP Nadda had also visited the Jalespata Ashram.

The decision for installation of these statues in several districts was taken by the Department of Odia Language, Literature and Culture at a meeting chaired by Minister Suryabanshi Suraj on Wednesday.

Suraj said: “Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati’s statue will be installed either at Bhubaneswar or Cuttack. Besides Swamiji, statues of other eminent personalities will also be installed.”

“These great personalities have played a pivotal role in shaping our independence and identity. Through their writings, they have enriched the Odia language and literature, while also upholding the values of Odisha’s culture and heritage.”

Odisha government has also decided to install the statue of the first Odia Shankaracharya, Sridhara Swami. Statues of the former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose are also set to be installed.

As part of the plan, statues of Bhajan Samrat Bhikari Bal in Kendrapara, freedom fighter Dharma Singh Mandhata Majhi in Bolangir, poets Kuntala Kumari Sabat and Shekhar Chintamani Mohanty in Bhubaneswar, Kabisamrat Upendra Bhanja in Berhampur, freedom fighters Gokulananda Mahanty in Bhadrak, Ratana Nayak in Keonjhar will be installed.

The statues of freedom fighter Veer Surendra Sai will be erected in Sambalpur, and that of poet Madhusudan Das in Cuttack, writers Gangadhar Meher in Bargarh, Fakir Mohan Senapati and freedom fighter Bagha Jatin in Balasore, Buddhist scholar Diganaga in Puri’s Delang, Tamma Dora in Malkangiri and Bajirao in Bhuban were finalized for installation.