PATNAIK’S DElUDED AND PARANOID SENSE OF VICTIMISATION
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s deluded and, often, paranoid sense of victimisation by the Centre is being increasingly viewed as an election-time stunt. The all-embracing culture of unfair treatment he has installed is a sound bite designed to garner votes. To fortify that culture, he has made us meek supplicants in the Delhi durbar. But with education and the sense of pride that comes with it, Odisha’s youths no longer brook a sense of pity for them. Patnaik’s grievance-mongering has started grating on their nerves. His father, late Biju Patnaik, was too great and proud a person to whine like a crybaby. The whole purpose of forming the regional party, Biju Janata Dal (BJD), was to fulfil the legend’s last wish for Odisha, “People of the State will have pride and confidence in themselves and not be at anybody’s mercy”. I can never imagine Biju Patnaik going to Delhi with a demand list and formally handing it over to Central Ministers without opening his mouth. He was a fighter all through his life. But the son pathetically lacks the courage and honour of his father. He is a craven wimp, a marshmallow in contemporary political state of affairs. He simply hands over the memorandum to the Central Minister and sits before him as glum as a bankrupt. He appears completely withdrawn and even uncomfortable. His poker face betrays no emotion, one way or the other. When it comes to talking, Patnaik is a walking disaster. His bored indifference embarrasses the Minister who too doesn’t engage Patnaik because he has been advised beforehand that Patnaik is a bad case of autism. The Minister lamely promises to take appropriate action on the demands. The memorandum is taken as given without any discussion. For this, purpose a courier service would have sufficed. Patnaik is not the dynamic political operator other regional parties produce elsewhere in the country. Clumsy weakling Patnaik is wholly miscast in the role of a regional leader. Keeping Odisha at the bottom of the development ladder suits Patnaik’s purpose of whipping up Central neglect for electoral success when actually it is a crashing failure of his leadership. Downright laggards have learned to claim the victim status. His namby-pamby and lily-livered stewardship of the State has robbed us of our rightful place. Depending on the leader’s attitude the 26 MPs of the State can either be snoozing poodles or ferocious greyhounds. The solid phalanx can be a robust fighting force if released from Patnaik’s tight leash on them. With strategic planning, they can make Odisha break out of the marginalised fringes where it has been consigned for far too long. They should be made loudhailers for Odisha in Delhi. In democracy, it is only the most determined who achieve success. It is a brutal Darwinian struggle, Mr Patnaik. Try to understand this basic truth.
IS NOT A BIRD IN HAND WORTH TWO IN BUSHIJ
Much of the fuss over black money hoarded in foreign bank accounts may be actually froth. Which retard would keep money in those accounts after all the hullaballoo created over it in the last few yearsIJ Only the terminally naive would believe these foreign accounts would have any significant balance left in them. Even if they have, is it worth the bother given the arcane clauses of confidentiality and our treaty obligations which both the UPA and NDA Governments, one after the other, swear to abideIJ Why run after those accounts in faraway countries when there is industrial-scale hoarding of black money in our own countryIJ The tax-dodged money, which is pretty much the dictionary definition of black money, is big enough to be visible even from the outer space. But like the Indian blade which leaves the beard and runs after the skin, our taxmen overlook these domestic tax evaders and keep them busy in chasing accountholders in foreign tax havens. Our superrich and their political patrons howl their loudest against the foreign accounts because the focus shifts away from their crimes inside the country. The extraordinary in-the-face manifestations of unaccounted money invested in real estate, financial instruments, ultra luxury cars, foreign travels and plush lifestyles are easy to track provided our taxmen are sufficiently bloody-minded to chase the merchants of tax loopholes. The country has a mechanism to solve the problem of poverty. That mechanism is called the tax system. Revenue lost due to tax avoidance and, its more evil twin, tax evasion, if plugged fully, can finance all the welfare projects of the Central Government. But right now, the tax-evading outlaws are laughing all the way to the bank. Catching tax cheats requires extraordinary political will which, despite their public posturing, neither the UPA nor the NDA has.
MOHAPATRA-ROUT FIGHT IS A BlOOD SPORT
Damodar Rout is by nature a wrangler. In politics, this blowhard is often a bare knuckle gladiator. Woe betides those who cross his path. His nasty barbs are the verbal equivalent of satellite-guided drone attacks. But the growly Minister becomes particularly vicious when there is even a passing mention of Pyarimohan Mohapatra’s name. Their ancient enmity has not mellowed with the passage of time. Rout says he has suffered third-degree burns when Mohapatra was a rock star in high-voltage power game. Now that Mohapatra is languishing in the knackers’ yard, Rout is glowing in schadenfraude with uncontrolled glee. last week, Rout once again taunted his bête noire on his involvement in the Seashore’s meteoric rise and the latter returned the fire with full force. Their barbed exchanges leaven the dull atmosphere. May their enmity last long!
RISE AND FAll OF SEASHORE AT INTERNET SPEED
After collecting forensic information from the Seashore’s con-artist Prashant Dash, now under custodial interrogation, the CBI, the Grim Reaper among all the investigating agencies, will soon be homing in on the suspects with deadly accuracy. The Seashore is miles ahead of the AT Group in its shady entanglements with the Government. If Dash sings like a canary, the dark underbelly of Naveen Patnaik’s administration will be exposed to bright spotlight. The Seashore investigation will unlock the treasure trove of grisly details about how an unscrupulous and dishonest opportunist, given the right contacts, can have the entire Government apparatus work for furthering his business. The Seashore became a pariah only after charges of lese majeste were levelled against Pyarimohan Mohapatra on that fateful night of 29th June 2012. But before that, the ponzi prince, spawn of an extremely cosy relationship between Patnaik and Mohapatra, was the darling of the Government. The bonhomie between his two godfathers has to be seen to be believed. You have not lived life if you have not seen their warm bond in action. Such was their chumminess that one would start a sentence and the other would finish it. In geek-speak, if Patnaik was the user name Mohapatra was the password, really in that ascending order of importance. The State administration was literally owned and operated by Prashant Dash. In those days, Patnaik was still learning the ropes while Mohapatra was the regent administering the State on his behalf. Not a file would move without Mohapatra’s wink. Even a three-year-old child knew that the Seashore flourished under the patronage of the regent. From no-name obscurity, brass-necked Dash rose up to preside over a financial empire of Rs 1,500 crore and, that too, at the internet speed. So, horror days are ahead of us when the CBI will act on Dash’s revelations. Fasten your seatbelt for your own safety. Avoid viewing if some scenes are too lurid.
BIJAY MOHAPATRA’S HOlY BATTlE AGAINST NAVEEN
The generally-accepted method of demanding Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s resignation is to arouse BJP stalwart leader Bijay Mohapatra to hold a Press conference. Once held, Mohapatra will not only demand Patnaik’s resignation but also CBI investigation into all the scams and, on occasions, even his arrest. His signature method is to call a presser, now-a-days being called with monotonous regularity, where he will betray his role as a natural born enemy of Patnaik. He addressed one such Press meet last week to regurgitate all that he had said before about Patnaik’s role in the chit fund scams in general and the Seashore swindle in particular. His holy battle for Patnaik’s political liquidation has gone into overdrive after the BJP came to power at the Centre. like a man with hammer who sees everything as a nail, Mohapatra won’t let go even minor misdeeds of Patnaik’s administration. He stresses to exaggeration point his views on the Patnaik Government’s all-round failings. Sometimes his accusations are strenuously overstretched and sound like highfalutin wail. But he remains alight with full-blooded indignation throughout the Press conference. His strategy seems to be to go after the man, not the ball. He is fully cognizant that Patnaik has the democratic mandate to be in power for another five years and squeaking threats at him is sheer waste of time. But that doesn’t daunt him; he will hang on like grim death.
(saratpattanayak@hotmail.com (M) 9437962121)