Shockingly, a couple of days back, several IITians in Kerala slaughtered a calf in public and held a ‘beef party’ openly in protest against the ‘beef ban’ by the BJP Government at the Centre. The episode has shaken up the civilised India not because the youngsters dared eat beef in full public glare but that the BJP is imposing rules which are against the spirit of the Constitution. No Government has the right to decide what people can eat. The right to ‘liberty’ gets violated if such an administrative or executive order is passed. Interestingly, there is just no mention of ‘beef ban’ in any popular Hindu scripture. On the contrary there is ample evidence of Aryan communities feasting over beef at celebrations and home. Even sages are known to have talked of ‘beef as tasty if tender as mentioned in several theological research works. Cattle meaning cows, buffalos, steers, bulls, bullocks, heifers and camels cannot be openly traded for meat. But cattle transport is an absolutely legal act if they are to be employed in milk production, soil–tilling and cart-pulling. Only days ago, an innocent team of cattle traders were neaten up black and blue by some so-called cow vigilante outfits at the Bhubaneswar rail station for transporting animals with official permission. The vigilante goons have been booked by police only because Odisha is still a secular State. All the same, the beef ban protesters can be punished for animal slaughter in public which is illegal. The slaughterhouse arrangement since ages is only to keep bloodshed hidden from public view, particularly children who could become violent in later life.
Surprisingly, not once has Modi declared the fundamentalist acts illegal and against the spirit of our Constitution. On the Ram temple issue too, he is trying to play safe by keeping quiet. People have admired Modi over his great moves like abolishing the ‘red beacon’ and the VIP culture; have trusted his demonetisation step despite big suffering; but his silence over fundamentalist or extremist Hindu moves have upset the civilised world no end. His administration has not once condemned the state involvement in the Ram Temple issue.
The saintly CM of Uttar Pradesh, who became a sensation in the first week of his taking charge, is slowly sliding down the pole of popularity. He abolished the VIP culture, made surprise visits to locations of critical public service like hospitals and police stations, thereby building incredible public confidence and trust. But his ‘cow vigilante’ and ‘anti-Romeo’ outfits have gone overboard to commit acts not tenable in any court of law. These populist wings of Yogi do not understand law or acceptable conduct, the way majority of India’s frontline politicians fail to differentiate between the legislature and the executive. Not surprisingly, the standard politician fails to make clear how laws are framed and rules made. Yogi rendered all senior bureaucrats powerless imagining politicians would grab all power to deliver quality service to people. This desired phenomenon shall never happen in any part of the world as the bureaucracy is the brain and truly functioning organ of the executive.
Administration essentially means ensuring field delivery of relief and goods by taking spot decisions in keeping with law and abiding by rules. Politicians have no time to study the rulebook or the ethics guidelines. They are busy becoming popular and more acceptable than before so as to ensure return to power successively. Bureaucrats are bright brains who clear extremely tough tests to become critical public functionaries. They can catch up with latest developments with little effort because of their intelligence, practical wisdom and common sense. Politicians are bound to depend on them for understanding the basics of the Constitutional spirit and how rules can be adhered to even when out of turn acts are expected to be committed. Rarest of rare politicians have the brains or the willingness to learn the subtleties of statecraft.
Politicians only choose one or a few of many options laid out before them by the smart bureaucrats. Not surprisingly, bureaucrats have a great deal of control over the political leaders in the executive that frames fitting rules to implement law-complying projects and schemes. Ministers, too crazy to make corrupt money, also consult their trusted bureaucrats for showing them escape routes in the event of landing in traps. Invariably, ethically sound bureaucrats dissuade them from engaging in such practices, but when greed rules the mind, mad politicians go their way like an untrained entrepreneur takes a leap with uncalculated risks. Politicians, who keep shuttling between power corridors and nowhere across time, have a poorer sense of shame and slander than bureaucrats, who know what works and what does not. In a complicated administrative system of modern times, there are countless public domains to manage. Hence, the guiding principles and the rulebook ate kept ready by bureaucrat for instant application.
No matter how hoarse the political class screams and screeches, bureaucrats are here to stay for everybody’s good. The only way to curtail their influence is by ensuring that politicians study hard and learn accordingly, which is just a pipedream as of now. Even Donald Trump is difficult to teach. law courts keep hammering him for erring on the Constitutional front. The Indian politician is far behind on the knowledge gathering front. So, blaming bureaucrats blindly is only like pelting a pebble at a mountain and feeling great.
Recently, as if a Mr Know-all Modi told the people that to feel or conceive ‘poverty’, one must visit Odisha. He spoke thus brazenly only to convince the masses that the BJD administration is a nonfunctioning one. But the magician Chief Minister whose aura and halo around are unique is a blindly followed and admired leader in Odisha. When the BJP wave was sweeping across India, Naveen grabbed a cool 117 seats out of 147 in 2014 confounding all pollsters and fortunetellers as their forecasts were wildly erroneous.
Modi, despite a very noble-minded politician, never did his homework right for Odisha when he said Odisha is terribly poor. The neighbouring Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and even Madhya Pradesh are far below on several development parameters. Odisha, incidentally, figures fairly high in the list of Software Technology Parks. Chhattisgarh today is at an abysmally low IT export of Rs 37 crore per annum; Jharkhand at 49, MP at 516 and Modi’s own Gujarat at 2,358 crore trail far behind Odisha, which enjoys an enviable Rs 3,400 crore in the current year.
When Naveen took over in 2000, the much-hyped JB Patnaik’s industrial revolution had achieved only Rs 180 crore per year with incalculable inputs. Further, one must look up the UNDP-drafted Human Development Index book which gives very clear projections that are nearly impossible to dispute because of the failsafe methods of research used to collect primary and secondary data. Odisha stands much above the neighbouring States and is shown in brighter light than many others.
Odisha is better electrified than even West Bengal. The BJP has no local face in Odisha to battle for power. Veterans like Dilip Ray and Bijay Mohapatra are either in trouble or disillusioned with the ‘lotus’ party. Miracles alone can bring the BJP to Odisha to occupy power in 2019. The BJP may grab power if the BJD loudmouths keep committing blunders on behaviour and the ‘think tank’ produces garbage quality publicity content nonstop.
In a latest shameful incident in Kendrapada, the local MP was offended with foul-language protest-slogans and eggs thrown at him. The act is flayed by public for being crude, vulgar and militant.
It is true that Baijayant’s corporate promoters have been direct beneficiaries of Biju Patnaik way back in the Sixties when they set up shop in Theruvali. His family business has also benefitted from electricity tariff waivers. He became MP with a BJD ticket.
But believably, he feels he is too powerful with his media outfit that can sway people in his favour. Unfortunately, the media houses owned by mainstream politicians have begun erring too dangerously because the bosses imagine people believe them more than politicians.
This phenomenon has ceased to be so as the social media is already beginning to take over. The media-owning BJD leaders are now seen either as aggressively arrogant or timidly slavish. Both are unwelcome as they can jump fences without remorse, regret or compunction. Bhartruhari is licking his self-inflicted wounds, Tathagata is contained well, but the money power-driven Baijayant seems to believe he can outsmart and fight to victory.
All said and done, the goons who offended Baijayant in full public glare have caused irreparable damage to the BJD image. Unless punished exemplarily, the people will see through the outfit and mark cracks that have remained invisible so far like in any other fold.
(The writer is a core member of Transparency International, Odisha)