Election Commission now must ban operation of all Orissa projects named after Biju Patnaik

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

The Election Commission has announced today the program for Mandate 2014 with the expected promise to ensure fair election.

It is therefore incumbent upon him to ban the operation of all the official projects named after Biju Patnaik in Orissa, if fair election in this State is to be ensured.

The Election Commission is aware of the fact that the ruling party of Orissa is named after Biju Patnaik. And Biju Janata Dal seeks a fresh mandate. Therefore, operation of official projects in the name of Biju Patnaik is bound to affect fair judgment of the voters.

Operation of projects named after Biju, when Biju Janata Dal is seeking mandate, would be nothing but bribing the voters after the Model Code of Conduct is enforced. This soft thread of election laws is to be understood by the Election Commission, failing which election in Orissa shall be nothing but a farce.

Publicity given to Biju by operation of projects of public interests named after him would attract electors to Biju Janata Dal by imposing Biju on their minds. And, this must not be allowed.

Biju was rejected by the people of Orissa in the last election of his life. But by coming to power taking advantage of the sympathy, which the broadminded people of Orissa had expressed, as he died after their rejection, Naveen Patnaik has infested the entire State with projects named after Biju by sheer misuse of his position as Chief Minister and his party being Biju Janata Dal, gullible voters of the State are led to believe that it is because of Biju and his son, they are benefiting from the welfare programs.

Mark the names of some of these programs: Biju KBK Yojana (a supervening imposition on the central government program), Biju Gramya Jyoti Yojana (Rural Electrification in the name of Biju), Biju Saharanchal Vidyutikaran Yojana (Urban Electrification in the name of Biju) , Biju Yuva Sashaktikaran Yojana (Youth Empowerment program in the name of Biju), Biju Kndhamal Yojana (Kandhamal Development in the name of Biju), Biju Gajapati Yojana (Development in the Gajapati District in the name of Biju) et cetera.

People all over the state are disadvantaged by lack of all weather roads, as in many points the streams and water flows intervene. There is an official Bridge Construction Corporation addressed to redressal of this disadvantage by building up connectivity over the waterbodies. But a new body has been contrived to attract more people to Biju name, styled Biju Setu Yojana,

Many official establishments of massive mass importance are renamed after Biju. Examples are: change of the name of the Bhubaneswar Forest Park to Biju Patnaik Park, Cuttack CDA Park to Biju Patnaik Park, State Police Academy to Biju Patnaik State Police Academy, Homeopathy Medical College, Berhampur to Biju Patnaik Homeopathy Medical College, University of Technology to Biju Patnaik University of Technology, Bhubaneswar Airport to Biju Patnaik Airport and et cetera.

Even an open air jail at Jamujhari has been renamed Biju Patnaik Open-air Ashram!

The anti-cultivator Naveen Patnaik has even used the Administration to name a cultivator welfare program by Biju’s name, such as the Biju Krushak Kalyana Yojana whereupon crores of rupees are being spent on advertisement.

When rural population gets a transportation service, though funds are provided from the State Exchequer, it is named Biju Gaon Gadi Yojana.

All these and the likes are contrived to catch votes by the name of Biju Patnaik when Biju Janata Dal is seeking mandate.

Gullible illiterate voters, who constitute the majority, fail to see the Biju-named projects and programs separately from Biju Janata Dal and thus, despite being a totally anti-people party, BJD bags the votes and continues in power.

It is imperative, therefore, on part of the Election Commission to ban forthwith the operation of Biju-named programs and issuance of any advertisement thereof, in order to ensure a climate where voters shall not be influenced by Biju name when a political party in his name is seeking a fresh mandate.

We earnestly hope, the EC would pay utmost urgent attention to this calling need of democracy.