Orissa turns 74: Needs strong leadership and good governance

It is a coincidence that Orissa is celebrating her 74 years of statehood just a few days before the Assembly and General elections. The time is a great reminder for our political leaders to realize and fulfill the dreams of our founding fathers, who dedicated their lives for the cause of Orissa.

At 74, Orissa is very young, charismatic, dynamic and energetic. The passing years are the years of learning and self-introspection. Beating all odds, the state has sailed forth to make her people happy and prosperous.Orissa played a pivotal role in the industrial development of modern India. Of the total mineral resources of India, the eastern state has 99 percent of Chromate ore, 92 per cent of Nickel ore, 65 per cent of Graphite and Pyrophylite, 66 per cent of Bauxite, 31 per cent of Mineral sand, 32 per cent of Manganese, 28 per cent of Iron ore and 24 per cent of coal within its geographical boundary. These natural resources were extensively utilized for the industrial development of India after the country was freed from the British imperialism.

We have to admit with deep pain that Orissa is regarded as one of the poorest states in India with nearly 48% of our population; figuratively 17-28 million people are below the poverty line. The industrial development has remained limited to memorandums of agreements. The debt burden has touched Rs. 42, 000 crores by 2008. The state is finding it very difficulty to provide salary to its employees. Naxal menace has further made the situation worsen. At present, nearly half of the state is under Naxal threat.

In this context, I humbly request to all the political leaders and people of my state to join hands for the creation of a new Orissa, the Orissa free from poverty, malnutrition, unemployment and starvation death. It would be that Orissa, which will stand tall in the all fronts of development.

Bande Utkal Janani.

Indian Premier League vs. Indian Political League: Which should be the first priority?

There is always political consensus cutting across party politics when the national interest is at stake. This is the standard practiced by the developed countries. In India, political consensus is a rarity. And during election season, every leader is an opportunist. Being the member of the opposition party, criticize the government for everything! This is the horrifying trend which the democracy in India has been unwittingly embraced.

The moment Lalit Kumar Modi, the media eye-catcher hinted the change of venue to an oversea country for the second edition of Indian Premier League ( IPL), the flamboyant BJP leader Narendra Modi left no time to openly declare it (for not holding IPL in India) will send the message that India is an unsafe country.

If the government had given green signal to IPL, then the sporting event would not have shifted (sorry Outsourced) to South Africa. In that case, the government would have been come under fire from a section of our political leaders that how irresponsible the government is! For, it has shown enthusiastic in Cricket when the country is testing her democracy.

So, which IPL should be given utmost priority?

It is surprising that Lalit Modi and other franchise owners have not realized, which everybody has predicted that the 15^th general election would be held in April-May 2009 after the United Progressive Alliance government managed to survive the confidence vote on July 22, 2008. It would clash with the IPL schedule, which was fixed from April 10- May 24.

In any case, IPL is a mega sporting event in the sub-continent. It has brought name and fame to Indian Cricket at the international level and entertained millions and millions of cricket lovers. At the micro level, the IPL has successfully tapped the local sporting talents. At a wider prospective, the event has further added feathers to India’s dream run to join the elite of global super powers.

After the resounding success of the inaugural edition of IPL, the BCCI has learnt it very well how to use IPL as money-spinning tool effectively. So, also the franchise owners! The IPL is predicted to bring the BCCI income of approximately US$1 billion, over a period of five to ten years.

Buoyant by the hyper-commercialism of IPL, BCCI approached the UPA government to provide necessary security arrangements for the event. When the Home ministry declined, BCCI came down heavily on the government. Adding twist to the developments, BJP politicized the issue for the reasons best known to its leaders.

India is a role model in Asia due to its vibrant democratic tradition. And the general election is an integral part of that vibrant tradition. Indian elections especially the Lok Sabha election have always attracted considerable international attention. In the 2004 general elections, nearly 670 million people cast their vote to elect a government. The number of voters were twice that of the next largest, the European Parliament elections. The upcoming election will be the world’s largest election exercise.

It is also equally true that the 15^th general election will be the most complex exercise in the backdrop of recent terror attacks, which have created much havoc in the minds of people. In order to make the exercise successful, the government must create an atmosphere of peace and tranquility where the voters can feel secure. To ensure that, the government need platoons and platoons of paramilitary and police forces both the central and State governments. This is just one side of the story.

Right to vote is not merely a political right as enshrined in our Constitution. It goes beyond that. Voting power makes the people feel the real and equal sense of citizenship to choose their representative and parties who are going rule them for another five years. The citizens should exercise this power with utmost care. They must keep a vigilant eye at the political parties. They should actively participate in the democratic process.

In this context, I am really happy that the second edition of IPL will be held in an oversea country. And it will not catch much media attention and not dominate the prime time television coverage. Atleast, we can stay away from cricket fever during the time of elections. After all, IPL is noting but a shrewd combination of sport and business.

Another election where voters will lose!

IRONY is that people always think journalists know everything and flood them with questions when any issue is in debate. And during elections, journalists are psephologists. This common perception often puts me in trouble. I escape very tactfully. I was in discussion with my friends on the current political scenario in Orissa. As usual they went on asking me several questions. Who is going to be the next Chief Minister of Orissa? Which party will win maximum number of Assembly and Lok Sabha seats? Will the Congress back to power in Orissa? What will happen to the BJP after snatching tie with its decade old friend BJD?

‘Time will determine everything’, was my simple answer. They expected predications from me. Being in media, we should not propagate any political party. This is the ethics of journalism, which I have learnt from my teachers and professional gurus. I asked my friends a simple question- Who will lose in the upcoming elections? The answers I got are BJD, BJP, Congress, NCP and so on. I was not satisfied. My answer was voters.

It is the voters who will be the ultimate losers. For, they are confounded, if not confused towards the rapidly changing political equations in the state politics. The answer was somewhat strange to them all. Let me prove my argument from the today’s development itself.

Bijoy Mahapatra is the most worried man. For, he has been betrayed twice. When BJD-NCP leaders cherished their pre-poll alliance, Mahapatra babu took no time to resign from the NCP. The Presidentship of the Orissa unit of NCP was held by him from the very beginning when his party Orissa Gana Parishad (OGP) merged with Sharad Power's outfit to expose the ruthlessness of Naveen Patnaik.

Upset Bijoy said,

"I have been fighting the misrule of the Naveen Patnaik government for the last nine years. How can I have any relationship with a person against whom I have all along been waging a battle”?

It was the year 2000. Orissa was in full swing for Assembly elections. Mr. Mahapatra was a BJD leader then. He was considered a trusted lieutenant of former chief minister late Biju Patnaik and headed many important departments when Biju babu was the chief minister from 1990-1995. He was nominated as a BJD candidate for the Patkura constituency in Kenderapara district for the 2000 Assembly election. But on the last date for the filing of nominations Naveen Patnaik chose somebody else. Naveen's calculated action gave Mahapatra little time to complete the formalities required to contest even as an independent.

Within six months of his expulsion, Bijoy Mahapatra formed a new outfit, the Orissa Gana Parishad (OGP) and merged with Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in 2007. The alliance determined to wipe out BJD.

At one point of time, the NCP leaders were the strong critic of BJD government and garbed much public attention. Now, NCP is an ally of BJD. So, who is confused here? Voters. Aren’t they?

Let’s proceed from this and discuss about the political campaign. It is better to begin with Naveen Patnaik.

The BJD chief kicked up his poll campaign from his home district, Ganjam. Addressing a gathering in Gopalpur, he said, “I and my party feel free after snapping ties with the communal BJP,” .

Mr. Patnaik added that the people of Orissa knew that it was the BJP, which was guilty of “betrayal after enjoying power for a long time due to the alliance [with the BJD].” He said the BJP leaders decided much earlier to end the alliance. “So, on March 7 night they preferred to go to the Raj Bhavan and withdraw support to the government even while seat-sharing talks was still on.”

His entire speech was aimed at reinstalling faith among the people by justifying his decision to ending relationship with the BJP. However, Naveen did not raise issues that people expected from him.

Being head of the incumbent government, Naveen should have projected achievements of his government and future strategies for the development of Orissa. He should have explained his government’s steps to curb out unemployment problem, which forces thousands and thousands of people to join the army of migrants each passing day. He should have talked about the MOUs which his government signed in the last 10 years. He should have also discussed about the necessary steps to stop starvation death and farmers’ suicide in the state. At least, he should have bothered about the long standing local problems, like development of Gopalpur sea beach, implementation of water projects, road connectivity, tourism and so on. None of these issues were raised in the campaigning.

Not surprisingly, the BJP which has also started its election campaign did not raise the issues which should be publicly discussed. The party was part of the ruling coalition for the last 11 years. So, who can better know the drawbacks and hidden agenda of BJD than BJP?

In its first election campaign as dubbed ‘Vijay Sankalp’, flamboyant BJP leader Sushma Swaraj known for her oratorical skills and quick adaptability to other languages addressed the massive gathering in the state capital. She gave her introductory remarks in Oriya before changing her tune to Hindi. Well. It is the first attack on Naveen Patnaik on language front.

Naveen’s apathy towards Oriya language despite in power for the last 11 years is indeed regrettable considering the ethos of the state. No one can deny that Orissa as a separate state was craved out of language revolution.

In her lengthy speech, Swaraj did not highlight the drawbacks of the incumbent government. She only lamented the breakup of the BJP-BJD alliance. If Sushma was not familiar to Orissa politics, then the other leaders like Biswabhusan Harichandan, Juel Oram, Kharavel Swain, Dharmendra Pradhan, Manmohan Samal, Surama Padhi, Chandan Mitra and State Unit Chief Suresh Pujari should have exposed the loopholes that the incumbent government conceded at the developmental fronts.

While development and industries had remained limited to memorandums of agreement, the promised goal of creating 10 lakh jobs in 10 years’ time has remained a distant dream. The state’s debt situation had gone up from Rs 18,000 crores in 2000 to Rs 42,000 crores in 2008. The day is not far when the state exchequer will be hardpressed to pay the salary of its employees. In the past nine years the Naxalite menace had spread to 18 of the 30 districts in the state. While 76 policemen had fallen to rebel bullets, some 132 civilians were killed in red attacks. These are the real political issues, which the leaders are overlooking.

Perhaps, it is first time in Orissa’s electoral history, we see such a meaningless campaign where the ideological lines are so blurred and parties have shown the kind of flexibility that would make a trapeze artiste turn green with envy.

Image: Zee News

BJD-BJP bonhomie over: Is it Naveen’s bold step or political blunder?

So, the 11-year old coalition between the Biju Janata Dal and the Bharatia Janata Party (BJP) ended with bitter notes from both the sides. The coalition, once regarded most powerful, unbreakable and undefeatable was eventually collapsed ahead of the crucial Assembly and General elections drawing new equations both at the state and centre politics.

Public memory may be very short, but those who are close to Naveen Patnaik can not forget the blunder that his father late Biju Patnaik committed in 1995.

Biju joined hands with Left parties in the 1990 Assembly election and claimed a landslide victory for the Janata Dal. The Janata Dal-Left ally won 125 of the 147 Assembly seats. He was elected Chief Minister for the second term.

In 1995 Assembly election, he snapped ties with Left parties and fought alone. Despite popular waves across the state, Biju could not come to power because Janata Dal had to accept defeat in more than 50 constituencies where the dominance of the Left parties was strong. And Biju’s dream run for third time CM was shattered. Now, his son Naveen took a similar step by ignoring importance of BJP for the forthcoming elections. Before jump into any conclusion, let me present a brief profile of BJD.

BJD is a different entity. Unlike other political parties in India, BJD is not a product of political movement or revolution. It is largely based on Biju legacy, the legacy withhold Congress supremacy in Orissa, which is otherwise referred as political laboratory for the grand old party. The BJD was formed in 1997 to keep the legacy vibrant.

Apart from Naveen’s clean image as projected in the media, BJP’s association with BJD in 1998 was another strong factor for the growing popularity of the regional outfit in the state. Both BJD and BJP were united to topple their enemy number one- Congress and they did it a number of times.

In the 1998 general elections, its first, the BJD won nine of the 12 seats it contested and the BJP seven of nine seats. In the 1999 Lok Sabha polls the BJD won 10 of the 12 seats it fought and the BJP all the nine it contested. In the February 2000 Assembly elections, the alliance bagged 106 of the total 147 seats - the BJD winning 68 of the 84 seats it contested and the BJP 38 of 63. Despite dual anti-incumbency factors both at the centre and state, the coalition recorded record victories both in the Assembly and General elections in 2004.

Thus, Naveen’s unilateral decision to break the alliance with BJP seems to be a blunder considering the fact that the recent development has taken the state towards a triangular battle where BJD is bound to face strong competition from both Congress and BJP.

Unlike previous elections where ‘development’ was the major issue, the 2009 elections will be fought on religion. And undeniably Kandhamal violence will become the major issue for the political parties.

After the pogrom against the Christian community, Naveen realized that the BJP could turn out to be an electoral liability in some parts of the State. Despite its initial failings, the Patnaik government came out with a rehabilitation package for Kandhamal victims and allowed Christian voluntary organisations to distribute relief in the affected areas in an effort to heal the wounds.

When both the parties sit for seat sharing, Naveen was very tactful. He remained firm on his demand to field BJD candidates in nearly 80 percent of the Assembly and Lok Sabha seats, even though a series of efforts led by BJP high commands for compromise.

Going by Naveen’s track record, it is clear that the BJD chief has always scored over crisis. His latest move is aimed at distancing his party from the communal agenda of the BJP and the Sangh Parivar. Time will tell how Naveen effectively manages the current crisis!

Image Source: Business Week