Odisha Diary: What’s in a reputation? Ask those that bear in mind Biju Patnaik

There appears to be a aware effort on the a part of Odisha’s maiden BJP authorities to erase the legacy of Biju Patnaik. A bigger-than-life determine who dominated state politics for over three a long time, Biju Patnaik—Biju babu as he’s popularly identified, father of BJD supremo and five-time chief minister Naveen Patnaik—has been the Biju Janata Dal’s main ballot mascot since its inception.

Ever because the Mohan Majhi-led BJP authorities got here to energy final yr—with a slender majority within the 147-strong Odisha meeting—it has been attempting each trick within the ebook to dismantle Biju babu’s legacy. Its newest transfer on this course is a brand new low—delinking Biju babu’s start anniversary (5 March) from Panchayati Raj Divas which has been celebrated in Odisha on at the present time since 1993. Each the BJD and the Congress described it as “petty politics”.

Whereas the BJD organised statewide protests on 6 March, Naveen Patnaik lashed out on the BJP for ignoring his father’s contribution to the strengthening of the three-tier panchayati raj system within the state and in accordance 33 per cent reservation to ladies in these establishments.

“Such makes an attempt converse of immature politics and small minds,” mentioned Naveen Patnaik as he recalled how the brand new BJP state authorities’s try and rename the Biju Patnaik Sports activities Award (instituted in 2001) as Odisha Rajya Krida Samman had been stymied by public stress.

Itemizing the numerous achievements of his illustrious father—who’s among the many makers of contemporary Odisha—Naveen accused the federal government of attempting to distort historical past. “However [the] folks won’t allow them to succeed. Historical past is an open ebook […] Biju babu is not only a state chief or nationwide chief, however a world chief. Pleasure of India. You can’t change an excellent legacy,” he asserted.

Congress leaders additionally denounced the transfer. Biju babu, who led a Congress authorities throughout his first stint because the state’s chief minister within the early Nineteen Sixties, had buddies throughout the political spectrum. “He was a towering determine who rubbed shoulders with the tallest leaders of the nation. His enchantment minimize throughout events. The current authorities shouldn’t neglect his immense contribution to the state, particularly in constructing panchayati raj establishments and empowering ladies,” mentioned Congress chief and former MLA Lalatendu Mohapatra.

Nonetheless, the BJP authorities, which has additionally scrapped the customary public vacation on 5 March, justifies its determination on the grounds that observing 5 March as Panchayati Raj Divas in Odisha and celebrating Nationwide Panchayati Raj Day on 24 April was creating pointless confusion. ‘To beat this inconsistency on the nationwide and state ranges within the celebration of Panchayati Raj Day, the state authorities has determined to now not have fun 5 March as Panchayati Raj Day in Odisha and can as an alternative have fun it on 24 April,’ an announcement from the chief minister’s workplace mentioned.

The federal government has, nonetheless, determined that Biju babu’s start anniversary would proceed to be celebrated on 5 March, albeit and not using a vacation.

On 5 March, chief minister Mohan Majhi led the state in paying tributes to Biju babu and sought to guarantee the those who his authorities would do all the things attainable to fulfil his imaginative and prescient by giving form to a affluent Odisha by 2036.

“There isn’t a distinction between Biju babu’s desires and the programmes of our authorities. Biju babu had envisioned a affluent Odisha. Our authorities has initiated efforts to attain this aim,” he mentioned, addressing a perform organised to mark the event.

The Opposition, nonetheless, noticed this as hypocrisy. “They need to erase his legacy as they worry it might assist us within the elections. They haven’t simply delinked his start anniversary from Panchayati Raj Divas, they’ve additionally carried out away with the apply of organising an Entrepreneurs’ Week from 5 March to honour Biju babu. The federal government didn’t make any budgetary provision for that.

Equally, the BJP-led centre has additionally withdrawn its share within the UNESCO Kalinga prize for popularisation of science [that was] established with the assistance of Biju Patnaik,” mentioned senior BJD chief and former minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak.

By the way, this isn’t the primary occasion of the brand new BJP authorities attempting to cast off issues that remind folks of Biju babu who, aside from being a extremely revered politician, was additionally a pioneering entrepreneur and a daring pilot. Quickly after coming to energy, the Majhi authorities rechristened a number of schemes named after the chief to honour his contribution to the state.

Whereas the Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY), the flagship well being scheme of the earlier BJD authorities, was renamed Gopabandhu Jana Arogya Yojana, the Biju Pucca Ghar Yojana grew to become the Antyodaya Gruha Yojana and Biju Setu Yojana is now referred to as Setu Bandhan Yojana.

The Majhi authorities has, in truth, been on a rebranding spree, inviting criticism from the Opposition. It has even rechristened the BJD authorities’s growth initiative ‘Ama Odisha, Naveen Odisha’ as ‘Viksit Gaon, Viksit Odisha’.

Quickly after chief minister Mohan Majhi, who additionally holds the finance portfolio, offered his maiden price range within the state meeting in July final yr, Naveen Patnaik, now the Chief of Opposition, accused Majhi of filching greater than 40 schemes of his authorities and ‘introducing’ them beneath new names. Sound acquainted? (Consider all of the central authorities schemes initially launched by the Manmohan Singh authorities that have been renamed with a handy ‘Pradhan Mantri’ suffix.)

The BJP authorities couldn’t care much less about such criticism. If, as they insist, they merely imply ‘to honour the numerous nice sons of Odisha who didn’t get their due prior to now’, may that not have been carried out with out erasing the identify and contribution of Biju Patnaik?