MLAs protest exclusion of Odisha spots from Iconic Sites

The non-inclusion of tourist spots of Odisha in the list of 17 Iconic Sites across the country to be developed by the Centre came up for discussion in the state Assembly on Thursday.

While ruling BJD and opposition Congress members protested against the absence of Odisha sites in the list as "iconic neglect" towards the state, BJP MLAs did not take part in the discussion.

Raising the issue at Zero Hour, senior BJD MLA Pradeep Maharathy said, "How can anyone exclude the Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri and the Sun Temple in Konark from the list? We demand that the Centre include at least these two sites in the list of icnonic sites."
Supporting the ruling BJD members' views, Congress MLA Taraprasad Bahinipati said, "Its a pure case negligence towards Odisha by the central government."