Capital Notes

BARTERING STATE’S INTERESTS FOR PERSONAl PROTECTION

After screaming against the land Acquisition Bill, BJD MPs crept out of the lok Sabha on hush puppies when voting on it took place. But more bewildering was their support in the Rajya Sabha for the Mines & Minerals Bill as well as the Coal Mines Bill through which the Centre hideously plans to take away the States’ rights over their mineral wealth. The witless cheerleaders surrendered the State’s superabundant mineral wealth without even a murmur of protest. Such craven U-turn on the party’s earlier position, sweetly described as “settled after deliberation with the Centre”, signs a spotlight on BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik’s realpolitik opportunism in politically difficult situations.

Howsoever much the BJD may claim that sweeteners were added to the provisions of the Ordinance to make the Bill palatable to them, nothing really was conceded by the Modi Government. Contrary to the Supreme Court’s decision that the states’ have the basic rights over the mineral wealth in their respective territories, the Centre seeks to appropriate them through a variety of subterfuges incorporated in these Bills. By supporting the two bills, Patnaik, in a sweetheart deal, has bartered away the State’s inestimable mineral wealth for Modi Government’s private assurances that the CBI will not hound him in the chit fund scam. Given the fact that the CBI was right behind him and breathing down his neck, Patnaik succumbed and toed the Centre’s line without any thought for the State’s future and the interests of its people. No other leader of a regional party has the comparable talent to openly rant against Central neglect while secretly gifting away his State’s right to use its wealth. This Machiavellian nature, luckily for him, was invisible to the media so far. But finally, we see the emperor without any clothes. Quite simply, Patnaik’s mask has dropped and his makeup has smudged.  

A GENTlEMAN DCP IS A SQUARE PEG IN A ROUND HOlE

Some charitably call him a self-effacing gentleman. Others derisively say he is a mewling nonentity. Whatever he may be, he is certainly not a commanding police officer. Yes, we are talking about Bhubaneswar DCP Satyabrata Bhoi. Even after six months into his job, he is yet to acquire a visibility so necessary for the top dog in his police district. He seems to be completely overshadowed by the Police Commissioner RP Sharma. Sharma hogs all the limelight. He rushes to crime spots, briefs media and does everything that the DCP should be doing.

Bhoi is by nature a humble, unassuming, meek and soft-spoken person, more at home in academia than in the hurly-burly of vice den the city is fast becoming. He seems to be dazed by the rapidly rising crimes and the blazing media coverage they instantly get. A DCP is not an aide to the Commissioner but the boss of his own police district. He is the one who should be in direct charge of his area of operation and not play second fiddle to the Commissioner. If he doesn’t stand up and be counted, who can blame Sharma for being the only recognisable face in the Police CommissionerateIJ Sharma has become the czar because Bhoi wants to remain his loyal subordinate. Bhoi’s instinctive submissiveness cripples him. A tough guy image is absolutely necessary for operational leadership, period.                 

HIGH COURT CRACKS WHIP ON TIME-WASTING lITIGANTS – NOT A MOMENT TOO SOON

By imposing a hefty fine of one lakh rupees on Titilagarh’s ex-Congress MlA Surendra Singhbhoi for not cooperating during the court proceedings and wasting the court’s time in the adjudication of his own law suit filed against the winning BJD MlA, the High Court has sent a chilling message that it is not a place for frivolous litigants. This tribe of playful and lighthearted plaintiffs files cases more for harassing the defendants than for genuinely seeking justice for them. Such flippant and whimsical cases and, their more evil sibling, uncooperative attitude silt up the justice delivery system from which the entire society suffers. By raising the bar against such roguish litigants, the High Court has certainly been able to strike fear into their hearts. If this no-nonsense approach is uniformly adopted, genuine seekers of justice groaning at the bottom of the pile will have a far better chance of getting justice a little more expeditiously.

DHARMENDRA PRADHAN’S WHO-I-AM SHOW

The three-day conference on the extravagantly named ‘India and the Indian Ocean – Renewing the Maritime Trade and Civilisation linkages’, addressed by a host of Central Ministers and the State Chief Minister, was basically Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s Who-I-Am show. He was the moving spirit behind the jamboree, from start to finish. The impresario was there at every step of the way, all the way. The convention itself was a great gaseous cloud of vacuous excitement. All the speakers supped deeply at the fountain of Odisha’s rich maritime past. But Pradhan went further. He not only waxed poetic about the State’s hoary seafaring legacy and the dominant role it played in the trade and cultural relations with countries in the India Ocean region but rolled out such a vision of grandeur for the future that it elevated him, for the moment at least, to the pantheon of political greats not entered by any other leader before and since the days of late Biju Patnaik. The conference may turn out to be an expensive joke, but Pradhan has firmly established himself as the fastest rising political star. That is for sure.    

(saratpattanayak@hotmail.com (M) 9437962121)