CONGRESS DENIES TICKETS TO ACTIVE OPPONENTS OF NAVIN
Subhas Chandra Pattanayak
Birds of the same feather flock together.
So also in politics, the agents of foreign interests and proponents of factotumism.
We have earlier observed that the party of factotums, Congress, where agents of foreign interest rule the roost, will try to help Navin Patnaik grab power again in Orissa as thereby foreign firms such as POSCO would be helped with the environment they need to exploit Orissa’s natural wealth.
It has come true with denial of party tickets by the Congress “high command” to active and well-known opponents of Navin Patnaik.
To help him win the last election, the so-called Congress high command had destroyed the party prospects in Orissa by discarding winning candidates for planting discredited fellows jettisoned by Navin from BJD under charges of corruption.
Peoples of Orissa, who were almost ready to dethrone Navin changed their mind thereafter as to them Congress appeared as incorrigibly corrupt a party that had no concern for its honest members.
Had it not been so, Navin could never have won that election.
This time too, Congress high command has played similar tricks to help Navin.
It has denied party tickets to those who were most active against Navin misrule during the ending term of his incumbency.
Sitting members of the Assembly such as Tara Prasad Bahinipati and Nimain Sarkar are examples. The other MLAs who have been refused party tickets are Habibulla Khan, Hema Gamang, Purna Chandra Majhi, Rabindra Kumar Mallik and the prime personality of Congress in Orissa as well as its veteran of hustings, J. B, Pattanaik.
Even as Bahinipati has resigned from the party in protest, Congress members including those of Bahinipati’s own district Koraput have voiced their collective protest against the conspiracy of Congress high command against Congress in Orissa.
It is really curious to note that the single most active voice against Navin’s misrule in the entire district of Puri, Uma Ballav Rath has been denied with party ticket even though he could certainly have won from Puri constituency.
Uma’s victory could have jeopardized Vedant’s land-grabbing design. And exactly as to Navin, to Sonia-Singh combine it was an anathema.
Genuine members of Congress all over the State are in deep disappointment over selection of candidates for Assembly constituencies. To them, it is a cool, clever and calculated conspiracy to help Navin in retaining his position in Orissa. Consequently, hundreds of them have preferred resignation even as most of them have decided to work against heavy cash payment and no more on party allegiance.
To Congress high command, victory of the party in Orissa is not more important than continuation of incumbency of Navin as their common purpose is replacement of Indian democracy with imperialism propelled plutocracy.
We in Orissa have no other way than watching how agents of foreign interest would flock together behind the screen of mock fights in the birth month of our Motherland, April.
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