Baijayant: Man under Naveen scanner
Sum Hosptal blaze has unraveled many secrets, including the political aspiration of the hospital owner Manoj Nayak. As beans are peeled layer by layer day after the day, former Health Minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak reportedly lobbying for Manoj as the party candidate for Kendrapada lok Sabha seat in the next general elections comes as a startling revelation in the aftermath of his being axed from the Ministry. Had there been no such ghastly incident, this secrecy would not have seen the light of the day and the CM’s intention of marginalising sitting Kendrapada MP Baijayant Panda would have met with success. Realising that Panda is a threat to his leadership, the BJD supremo wanted to cut him to size through Atanu. The grapevine has it that the move through Atanu was a deep-rooted conspiracy of Naveen Patnaik, a suspicion which has prima facie some substance to be believed. But these are political games where everything is fair. Now whether Atanu had got a green signal to promote Manoj and replace MP Panda in Kendrapada lS constituency because of Naveen’s estrangement from Panda for various reasons is shrouded in mystery. Panda’s Parliament deliberations and his views expressed in various TV channels backed by a strong financial standing is enough to shatter the confidence of Naveen, but politics is a different ball game and whether that suits Panda for a leadership fight is a big question mark.
Jual continues to face Bhuyan tribe’s ire
Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram is now facing the ire of the Bhuyan community. In spite of his clarification and efforts to assuage the hurt feelings of the community, he has not been able to pull himself up from the political quagmire he has fallen in. Thousands of Bhuyans assembled at Sundargarh last Wednesday to demonstrate their solidarity. Slogans against the Minister rented the air and the rally provided an opportunity to all non BJP leaders to share a common platform to isolate Oram who is afraid of losing his vote base in the district as Bhuyans constitute a significant vote bank in his constituency. Even in rest of the State, Jual’s tribal development initiatives have nothing much to write him about. Rather, the child deaths of Nagada, Malkangiri and Nabrangpur have exposed tribal affairs of Odisha for which the Centre is also equally responsible. Oram is never serious about issues concerning the tribals and continues with his carefree attitude. His statements have many a time put him on the dock. The handholding of Congress and the BJD leaders in the rally was interesting to watch, though Sundargarh BJD district president Bata Kishore Mishra defended Oram by saying “the rally is an offshoot of the media’s wrong interpretation of Oram’s statement.” Be that as it may, the rally leaves a warning for Oram – surrender before the Bhuyans or face the music in the next general elections.
Panchayat legal aid yet another BJD ploy
Madhubabu legal aid centre in each panchayat is again a BJD ploy for victory ahead of the panchayat elections. Appointment of 6,211 lawyers in as many panchayats is in itself a Herculean task. For a paltry remuneration of Rs 500 per sitting no advocate will be willing for the job. It is considered a lollypop thrown to garner their support. The Panchayati Raj and the Finance departments have given the assent after which the so-called ‘project’ has been announced. The GRS or the PEO, either of them will have no alternative but to agree because they are Government employees. The scheme is bound to run for its money because of an illicit tripartite connection among the departments which have launched the project. Therefore, even if the concept is genuine, its implementation is questionable simply because of the time chosen for rolling it down. There will be a weekly camp (maximum four times a month) in one of the Bharat Nirman Rajiv Gandhi Seva Kendra buildings or in a room provided by the Panchayat office with required furniture. The lawyer will be selected by a panel consisting of the Collector, the Project Director of DRDA and the BDO. There are several panchayats having no road connectivity. How these officers and the lawyers will manage to ensure their presence in the camp is a million dollar question. The new system is an extension of the lok Adalat which has yet to achieve the desired result. So, going by the Government’s performance yard stick, taking legal aid to people’s court is next to impossible.
Will Transport Min act on moral groundIJ
Why a bus should be permitted to carry ‘standing passengers’IJ Issuing permit to carry standing passengers is somehow beyond the comprehension of the public who travel by bus. There can be two reasons. Either there is pressure mounted on the transport authorities by the bus owners to earn extra money or there is shortage of buses so that over loading of passenger is unavoidable. It is time Transport Minister Ramesh Chandra Majhi reviewed the decision of carrying standing passengers in the bus who create discomfort for the sitting co-passengers. Then the issue of rash and drunken driving comes for serious deliberation and regular checking by the enforcement authorities. Methods adopted for issue of licence should also be reviewed with strictures for flouting the guidelines. There have been a series of bus accidents starting from Deogarh to Puruna Manitri in Angul district. The latest one has claimed 5 lives leaving 69 persons injured. It is obvious the bus was carrying more than 70 passengers. While trying to save a motorcyclist, the bus skidded off the road and fell down the Tukuda bridge on national highway-5. Despite repeated accidents, Minister Majhi does not invoke his moral sense as shown by his colleague Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak. When the Government’s action is a far cry, the passengers have no other go but to keep an eye on the driver and ask him to refrain from using cell phones while driving. If he is found drunk then they should stop the bus and inform the authorities for taking him to task and make alternate arrangement. There should be an attitude of zero tolerance for accidents by the Government. But knowing our RTOs well as we do, some heads must start rolling as examples to develop a corruption-free work culture among the enforcement authorities. But, first Majhi should own the responsibility for lapses.