When CM’s PS is more powerful than the State’s CS, it is Anarchy

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

Orissa Government did not intervene when Kanak TV subjected the Chief Minister to a competition, styled ‘Odisha Power List – 2016’. As was suspected Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik was declared the most powerful.

By using ETv, Chief Minister Patnaik had obtained Priya Odia title in a final round mobile phone campaign by defeating the four year old marathon runner from a Bhubaneswar slum.

Emerging “top” in TV media surveys for a chief minister is as intriguing as is a conundrum for the common people.

In the list of the so-called powerful persons, chief minister’s private secretary Sri V Karthikeyan Pandian has occupied the third most powerful position. He has surpassed all political leaders of the State except Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan (2nd position holder) and even the Chief Secretary of Orissa. The names seriatim are: (1) Naveen Patnaik (Chief Minister), (2) Dharmendra Pradhan (Union Minister), (3) V Karthikeyan Pandian (CM’s private secretary), (4) Soumya Ranjan Patnaik, Editor of Sambad, (5) Dr. Damodar Rout (Cabinet Minister), (6) Achyuta Samanta (Education trader), (7) Bijoy Mohapatra (BJP leader), (8) Baijayant ‘Jay’ Panda (BJD MP) , (9) Narasingha Mishra (Leader of Opposition) and (10) Jagi Mangat Panda (wife of Baijayant ‘Jay’ Panda).

However, the said survey has exposed to what anarchy the “top powerful” chief minister has reduced Orissa. In power, his private secretary, a junior IAS officer, is so much of strong distinction that, the Chief Secretary of the State could not vie with him and the seemingly powerful senior colleague of the Chief Minister Dr. Damodar Raut could not reach his proximity!

In describing Pandian, the English print media sister of Kanak TV, Odisha SunTimes, born to the same mother Eastern Media Ltd, has said:

“Known to pull the strings of the Chief Minister’s office, Pandiyan is the low-profile Private Secretary to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. He has been instrumental in launching some of the most successful schemes of the Government and wields enormous power in not only the government, but also Biju Janata Dal. Not much is available about him in public domain; however, that didn’t stop our voters to rank him at number 3 in Odisha Power List – 2016”.

I waited till now to know how Pandian reacts to this exposure that he “pull(s) the strings of the Chief Minister’s office” and he “wields enormous power in not only the government, but also Biju Janata Dal”. He seems enjoying this recorded glory.

How does the Chief Secretary – the number one authority over Orissa’s bureaucracy – who legally heads the Executive Government, react to this? How is a paid government servant “wields enormous power” in “Biju Janata Dal”? This being on records, why has he not been asked to explain his position in this respect, as yet?

If this is not anarchy, what else is?