New Delhi:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has showered praise on Odisha’s former Chief Minister Biju Patnaik, underscoring the role he had to play in the Independence movement of in Indonesia.
Addressing the Indonesian parliament in Jakarta during his visit, PM Modi said, “Both our nations gained independence around the same time: Indonesia in 1945 and India in 1947”.
When it came to sovereignty as Independent nations, India became a “strong voice in support of Indonesia’s independence movement at the United Nations,” he said. “The role played by the respected Biju Patnaik during that period — the way he safely brought Prime Minister Sutan Sjahrir and Vice President Mohammad Hatta to India brought the two nations closer,” he added.
Before he joined politics and became the Chief Minister of Odisha, Biju Patnaik — the late father of former Chief Minster Naveen Patnaik — used to be a dashing pilot of the Indian Air Force.
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