Centre says no the Orissa's state anthem

Bhubaneswar, Nov 4 (UNI) In a major set back to the Orissa government's desperate bid to have its own anthem, the Centre, has clarified that the state was not competent to have its own anthem.

The state government had approached the Union Home Ministry to grant permission to have its own state anthem but the later pointed out that granting a state anthem status to the state is neither included in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution nor in the Union or State concurrent list.

The Union Home Ministry also clarified that as per the provision of the Article 162 of the constitution, the Orissa government was not competent to adopt a composition for state anthem.

The State government had taken a stand to adopt ''Bande Utkala Janani, a song composed and written by Kantakabi Laxmikanta Mohapatra in 1912 as state anthem.

In 2002, state Assembly Speaker Sharat Kumar Kar even directed the state government to grant the status of the song as state anthem in response to a demand from members cutting across the party lines.

Meanwhile, official sources said, on receipt of the communication from the Home Ministry, the state government consulted with their counterparts in some other state to ascertain whether they have any such provision of state anthem.

The government was also exploring the possibility of consulting senior lawyers in view of the Union Home ministry's disapproval to the state anthem.

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