Subhas Chandra Pattanayak
Amit Shah’s speech clearly indicates that emergence of Prasad Harichandan as PCC Chief has unnerved the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The national President of BJP in his speech at Bhubaneswar on January 6 blatantly failed to elaborate, even define, the ‘Mahasangram’ he had come to launch.
State leadership of BJP had drawn up the scheme of Mahasangram (The Great War) against Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who, to them, epitomizes all dishonesty and corruption, scams and scandals from chit fund to mines and had invited Shah to give impetus to its scheme. But Shah failed to stand up to their expectation.
BJP State leaders seem to have failed to read their national leadership.
Modi had not uttered a single effective word against Naveen Patnaik in his “Vijay Sankalpa” speech at Bhubaneswar in February 2014 when pledging himself to fulfillment of Biju’s dreams – what dream, though, he had not revealed – he had, in fact given elixir to Naveen’s party named after Biju.
Now Shah has repeated the same approach by keeping mum on Naveen despite his State leaders having bared him layer by layer in matter of every wrong happening to Orissa.
BJP rank and file in Orissa is confused. They were expecting Shah to add force to their campaign against Naveen. They are discernibly frustrated.
But, in fact, Shah has indicated that the BJP central leadership is frustrated over its inability to keep the Congress party starved of leadership in Orissa.
He was very clear in his speech. He was absolutely emphatic in saying that the circle of his party’s victory could be complete only when Orissa comes to its fold. But for BJP’s central leadership, grabbing Orissa would not be possible by criticizing Naveen; it is possible if Congress does not get back its strength.
This soft thread of tactics is not easy for the State leadership of BJP to understand.
They have not yet understood that there is no difference except the name and banner between BJP and BJD.
Both of the parties have a common master – the rich; and in their top leadership level, there is no rivalry between them exactly as there was no rivalry between Chanura and Mustika, because both of them were stooges of their common master – Kamsa.
Even BJP was never seen attacking Dr. Manmohan Singh in real political term, because Singh was working for the rich.
When Singh was exposed threadbare in the Loksabha in matter of BCCI, the initiator of the debate Sri Jaswant Singh of BJP had rendered the entire debate inconsequential by withdrawing his notice in the last moment. He had acted thus certainly under direction of the BJP leadership, because, there was no action against him for having come to the rescue of Manmohan Singh.
The BJP was seen making campaigns against Congress, but was never seen exposing Manmohan Singh.
Singh had played treachery against the country by signing the nuke deal with USA behind back of the Parliament and declaring it “sealed, signed and non-negotiable” when, in fact, it was a “must” for the Indian Parliament to “agree to the text” of the Hyde Act on the basis of which 123 agreement was to be signed.
Manmohan Singh had not placed the Hyde Act before the Parliament and the Parliament had not been given the opportunity to “agree to the text” thereof or to disagree.
BJP was well aware of this.
But when the left parties’ objection to the nuke deal had terminated their alliance with the Congress and the issue of “agreeing to the text” of the Hyde Act or disagreeing was going to come up, the BJP had diverted the attention of the Parliament from Singh’s offense of suppression of vital facts from it to a ‘notes for vote’ scandal. Its members – Ashok Argal, Faggan Singh Kulaste and Mahavir Bhagora – were used to display currency notes in the House while alleging that the bundles were paid to them in advance for votes of confidence in the PM.
Why did BJP, arch rival of Congress, rushed to the rescue of Singh in the Parliament time and again?
This was because; Singh was working for the rich.
Similar attitude of BJP central leadership is seen in case of Naveen Patnaik, the obstinate facilitator of POSCO and such likes.
BJP knows that exactly as Congress has suffered the worst ever setback because of Manmohan Singh, the BJD is to suffer the same fate because of Naveen Patnaik whose dubious role in matters of chit fund and other scams is getting unveiled by watchdogs of people’s interest. If it so happens, the resultant benefit will be derived by BJP in absence of well defined leadership of Congress in the State.
To BJP perception in the top level, Naveen would bring in his own fall because treating Orissa as fee simple for all time to come would be impossible. In that case, BJP will have the victory in absence of a united and strong Pradesh Congress.
But,with emergence of Prasad Harichandan as President of the Pradesh Congress, this comfortable feeling of BJP in its top level has vanished.
It would be very difficult for BJP to denigrate the new chief of the Congress in the state of Orissa. Prasad has nothing to be criticized for adversely. He has no distance from any provincial leader of the Congress. He is honest and a man of prudence who has made splendid mark as a minister and legislator. He is strong in his views and humble in his expression. So, he has all the ability to unite and activate the grand old party that has given us our freedom and except the nefarious period of Manmohan’s regime, has all along accommodated left views in leading the country in the progressive line.
BJP national President knows that with emergence of Prasad as PCC Chief, it would be impossible for his provincial followers to match the Congress.
Therefore the hallucination one marked in his public speech in the capital city of Orissa on January 6. His entire speech was unqualified diatribe on Rahul Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi alone, when his provincial unit had been crying for his guidance against Naveen.
Clearly, Prasad’s emergence as PCC President has unnerved the BJP.
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