The habitual Centre bashing of the BJD may cost the State’s ruling party dearly. The BJP, competing with the BJD to wrest power in Odisha, has taken on the BJD on the twin issues of Mahanadi and attack on BJP workers.
Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan during his latest Press meet here was rather ‘offensive’ when he warned the BJD of a suitable reply to its hooliganism while condemning in strongest terms the thrashing of the BJP supporters at the behest of BJD Ministers.
At the same time, he pointed out the State Government’s ineptitude in dealing with the water sharing issue of the Mahanadi with Chhatisgarh over past many years while taking potshots at the ruling party for politicising the issue ahead of elections.
On the contrary, while the BJD is focusing mostly on the Mahanadi issue and is trying to show that it is the only party which is committed to protect the interest of the State when the opposition parties including the BJP and the Congress are not so sincere and are likely to dance to the tune of their Central leaders, the CBI has once again become active and is closely zeroing in on BJD leaders.
The Central investigation agency had called henchmen of Industry Minister and senior BJD leader Debi Prasad Mishra on links with Seashore chit firm, while the brother-in-law of Minister Sanjay Dasburma was also called to the CBI office pertaining to link with the AT Group. Though the BJD leaders were convinced that the Centre could not use the CBI against them as long as it was assured of BJD support to the GST Bill, but it looks after the Bill was passed, the CBI has intensified its operations and in all likelihood, it would continue to do so until the sleuths knock at the doors of the key BJD leaders, including Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
The BJD had virtually made an anti-Centre stand for its survival and catching vote. By making various pleas, the BJD managed to slap an anti-Odisha brand on the party ruling at the Centre-be it the Congress or the BJP. By doing so it also checkmated the progress of the two Central parties in the last 16 years. Though Chief Minister Patnaik was very adept at handling the Centre to his gain by virtue of numbers in the Parliament and State Assembly, it seems those days are a passé now. During the UPA rule, the BJD hammered at the contradictions that existed between the Congress Central unit and Odisha Congress on a host of issues like Polavaram, less Central grant, Posco, farmers’ issues and various scams like mining and chit fund etc. The dissent in the State Congress also played out to BJD’s advantage.
But so far as BJP is concerned, there are hardly any contradictions between the State and Central units. Moreover, Dharmendra Pradhan, who is said to be the Chief Ministerial candidate of the State BJP, has turned the blue-eyed boy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and has been enjoying a privilege that few Congress MPs or Ministers from Odisha enjoyed during the UPA rule. The BJP is clearly dead set to grab power in Odisha in next general elections and seems to be very foussed on the mission with Pradhan at the forefront.