Orissa Matters

Immortal Comrade

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

Eyes full of dreams that a day would come when post-independence emancipation shall not remain a day-dream for Indian Masses, heart full of compassion for human beings, mind full of alertness to guard the interest of the common man in the best possible creative way, Comrade Puranjan Roy passed away last evening. A bright star of humanitarianism and communist consciousness, a thought-provoking IPTA veteran has left the sky of Orissa’s Left brilliance in the evening of June 17.

We stand in silence in searching his place in our hearts.

Immortal Comrade, Lal Salaam. Lal Salaam.

Sans possible remedy, Assembly witnesses Naveen Brand of Administrative Anarchy

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

With massively massive majority in the Assembly, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik may not possibly be forced to act in interest of the people.

But from what his Finance Minister has revealed in the House, comes to light the administrative anarchy he has subjected the people to, in its economic management.

When Orissa has been forced into debt-trap, with the ever increasing debt load reaching Rs. 37570.89 crores, the administration has been cohabiting with economic offenders from whose coffers the State is to retrieve at least Rs. 51914 crores.

Finance Minister Pradip Kumar Amat, in answering Bhujabal Majhi of Congress, has informed the House on Monday, when the State had a loan of Rs. 18100.80 crores in 1999-2000, the amount is estimated to have increased to Rs.37570.89 crores in 2013-14. Thus, during the regime of Naveen Patnaik, per capita loan amount has increased from Rs.5014/- to Rs.8687/-.

When this loan is loaded on the people to fuel the vote-catching programs run by the State in the name of his father Biju, the occasion for loan could not have even arisen, had private companies been made to make payment of Orissa’s tax dues. In the mining sector alone, there is non-recovery of located dues amounting to Rs.46191.69 crores. This is when Naveen’s excessive zeal in ensuring official help to mine operators is so clear!

The State is being denuded of its mineral wealth as the government of Naveen Patnaik never bothers about how much of which mineral must be preserved for future Orissa and her future generations. Yet, a vast sum of Rs.46191,69 crores, which is about Rs.10,000 crores more than the entire debt liabilities of Orissa is yet not brought to the State Exchequer! Sad!

The CAG has unveiled non-collection of the State’s dues in almost all the departments because of mandarines’ honeymoon with the offenders. But Naveen Patnaik, despite in fourth consecutive terms in office, has not punished any of the officers for lapses in collection of revenue.

The easiest way of keeping the State bereft of its dues is creation of climates for litigations. The gained over officials deliberately keep flaws on records to provide the scope for offenders to move the courts, and as prima-facie the cases look sound in that condition, courts grant stays on recovery, and the cases continue to linger, as the lawyers appointed by the government, earn fabulously for every appearance. Opposition alleged Monday that the government has been squandering away the exchequer in paying lawyers even at the rate of Rs.25 lakhs per day, when offenders are enjoying the luxury of lingering litigations in various courts. It deserves to be noted that the highest paid lawyers that are yet to succeed in defeating the offenders’ design, and in legally opening the coffers of the offenders to drag in the outstanding dues of the State to its exchequer, are all non-Oriya lawyers. Orissa has many competent lawyers whose devotion for the motherland could have been fetching better results; but fellows who have no emotional affinity for Orissa, enjoy the preference of this government.

Viciousness of this circle is impregnable. Had Naveen Patnaik the aptitude to serve people’s interest, he should have created a law to punish the departmental secretary for improper vetting of the government orders that give birth to litigations, wherein law courts find prima facie strength in the cases of the alleged offenders, for which, stay orders emanate. Had actions against issuers of flawed orders been codified, the officials would have been cautious and careful and the offenders in nexus with the lawyers could not have got the scope to bike the exchequer of its dues, making so huge amount of money unavailable to the State.

From the FM’s answer to Naba Kishore Das, it transpires that 7180 cases challenging the government’s tax claim are pending in courts including the High Court and the Supreme Court, because of which dues of the State to the tune of Rs. 51,914.13 crores stay unrecovered.

The nexus is strong, because the Chief Minister is beyond answerability for non-recovery of the dues of the State.

Against this backdrop, the State Budget is set to be placed today before the Assembly.

Impose Ceiling on Private Wealth Mr. Modi, don’t threat Common Indian with Further Financial Burden

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi has expressed in a meeting of his party workers in Goa that the economic ruin his predecessor Manmohan Singh has pushed the country into, warrants tougher steps that may also affect the purse of the common man.

This makes two things clear:

Firstly, Modi was ignorant of the economic condition of India before he cultivated BJP pimps to market him as their prim-ministerial candidate. Had he any real knowledge about the country’s economic condition under Manmohan Singh, instead of now telling the people that, they are to bear the financial burden to help him rule them, he should have told them about how he was to salvage the country from the economic strait, if elected. He kept the people in dark about his ideas, and now threatens them with new financial burdens! If they were to be further exploited to help the juggernaut of Modi move, they could have refused him the mandate. They are now going to be cheated.

Secondly, Modi knew the details of the economic ruin Manmohan Singh had dragged the country into, where economic aggrandizers prospered and common man perished, as was bound to happen under capitalism. Modi had nothing to say against that, as he also belongs to the same nasty school of capitalism. In fact, in his entire electioneering, capitalism was never criticized. He had never uttered a single word of disapproval of Manmohan Singh’s political economy, because he is also to continue with the same baton. He deliberately hurled abusive words at the Congress President and her family and with the help of Goebbels in the media, made the election person-centric instead of ideology-centric. And, while doing so, he knew that the government he was to run will impose burdens on the common man so that his show shall continue unhindered, exactly as Manmohan Singh subjected the people to all sorts of nefarious exploitation by the capitalists and compradors with the assurance that the end result thereof would benefit the people.

In these pages we had shown how Anna Hazare was used to divert people’s spontaneous uprising against misrule of Manmohan Singh from ills of capitalism to corruption, as a prelude to emergence of a new mask of capitalism. And that new mask is Modi.

Yet, he was the best thing to happen, in absence of any effective alternative that could have brought Communism to power. Many alert Indians to whom Modi is an anathema to the purpose of Indian Republic, supported him under the pretension that the election 2014 was an opportunity to chose between American Imperialism represented by the Congress and Indian Capitalism represented by the BJP. So, it was patriotic for them to prefer the BJP.

Therefore, Modi’s emergence as the Prime Minister is based on patriotic preference of a large number of Indians, in the battle of American Imperialism versus Indian Capitalism.

This preference will not stay if Modi precipitates a battle between Capitalism and the common man.
As the Prime Minister, he is to run his administration which must ensure strong defense of the Republic and pursue the projects of welfare. And for these basic purposes, he must need enough money. As a man groping about in the dark now, he has expressed his mind to collect the money from the people. He must not proceed in this direction, because people have already been exhausted by paying for making the rich richer.

What should, then, he do?

Only two steps he has to take.

He has rightly taken the first step to recover black money stashed by dishonest Indians in foreign banks. He must expedite it and bring back the money from the coffers of the traitors.

The second step he should take, is, imposition of ceiling on private wealth and confiscation all wealth exceeding the ceiling.

The country has already had the experience of ceiling on landed properties. In view of this precedence, it is just and proper and entirely legal to impose ceiling on private wealth in terms of money and confiscate the excess amount.

So enormous funds, thus, would be available that there shall be no necessity to impose any more financial burden on the common man.

If he does not heed to this advice, a new era will come to Indian Republic through a new battle between capitalism and the common man, nobody knows how, though, when Modi fails as the last hope in the present circumstances, it must.

Tigiria Celebrates Champaka Dwadashi

Champakdwadasi is Tigiria’s famous festival of fireworks where controlled application of gunpowder write excellent scripts of ecstasy in the sky in welcoming the season of showers and sowing of seeds in the soil, said eminent journalist Subhas Chandra Pattanayak on the occasion of inauguration of the festival on June 09. A son of the soil, he was felicitated for ‘social service’.

Formerly a Princely State, Tigiria was famous for production of excellent rice. Its richly fertile soil is so immensely suitable for agriculture that cultivators from neighboring States were migrating to Tigiria and amongst all the ex-States, this was the most densely populated, as per statistics recorded by the British. So, when Summer reaches its last stage and monsoon approaches the land, people of Tigiria celebrate the union of Earth with Heaven symbolical represented by Parvati and Siva on the day of Champak Dwadasi.

Power politics having destroyed the unity of the people, this festival was abandoned for decades after Panchayati Raj metamorphosed into a new era of anarchy. A great tradition of Tigiria had died.

But villagers of Puruna Tigiria, Amunihasahi, Paikianra and Chasanra have revived this tradition since four years and this year, it was the ‘Fourth Champakdwadasi Mahotsava’, observed for two days.

The first day dedicated to music and dance performed by local artists and the second day to display of fireworks for which Tigiria is famous since ancient days.

The festival commenced with lighting the lamp of inauguration collectively by the organizers: Kabichandra Nayak (Chairman), Kabichandra Parida (President), Dibakar Pradhan (Vice President) Adhyapak Manoranjan Mohanty (Secretary), Pabitra Mohan Jena (Joint Secretary), Duryodhan Basti (treasurer) of the ‘Sri Sri Shankareswar Mahadev Shanti Pragati Parisad, under the banner of which the celebrations are held. With them were village committee leaders of the four villages: Mana Ranjan Nayak (President, Puruna Tigiria), Laxman Majhi (Secretary, Puruna Tigiria), Basanta Kumar nayak (President, Paikianra), Benudhar Jena (Secretary, Paikianra), Kulamani Swain (President, Chasanra), Narendra Kumar Mohanty (President, Amunihasahi) and Mangaraj Raut (Secretary, Amunihasahi). Local Sarapanch Pramod Kumar Majhi and Samiti member Ms. Madhuyotsna Priyadarshini had joined them along with Panchayat Samiti Chairman Bhagirathi Nanda, Journalist Subhas Chandra Pattanayak, Tahsildar of Tigiria Binod Kumar Jena and Sub-Divisional Police Chief Krutibas Jena.

The meeting was presided over by Kabichandra Parida and coordinated by Adhyapak Manoranjan Mohanty. Chairman of Tigiria Panchayat Samiti Bhagirathi Nanda was the Chief Guest.

Others felicitated were Rajkishre Behera (Journalism), Sambit Kumar Tunga (Bravery),

On the 2nd day of the celebrations, bright students of Tigiria were felicitated. They included Nilakantha Behera (Block Level High School topper) and Ms. Diptimayee Sahu (Panchayat level Matric topper) and Block level Upper Primary Scholarship holders: Rakesk Amahant, Sonali Piroi, Jyotiranjan Jena, Sima Nayak, Snehamanjari Majhi, and Purnima Behera.

When Athgarh Sub-Collector Madhusudan Mishra, as chief guest of the concluding day witnessed the unique display of fireworks, the inaugural day was celebrated with performance of Pala, Pallinrutya, Panchana Nrutya, Balashree, Ghanta Badya o Nrutya, Odissi, Chhau, Sambapuri Nrutya and Bhajan by local artists, specifically of Durga Devi Dance Academy, Panchagan – a village whose participation in Champak Dwadasi in the past was immense.

In placing the annual report of the festival, Parisad Secretary Adhyapak Manoranjan Mohanty advanced the idea of an exhibition of Tigiria’s indigenous products like the unique Khandua fabric of Nuapatna and replicas of Tigiria’s famous Banas like the Haveli and literary works of authors born in Tigiria including palm-leaf manuscripts over and above display of agricultural equipments and technologies for benefit of the cultivators.

Priority given to Agriculture in Governor's customary address to the 15th Assembly

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

The first session of Orissa’s 15th Assembly commenced with Governor Dr. S.C.Jamir laying priority on agriculture, the key to development of the State. In the next five years 10 lakh hectares of land would be irrigated, he said.

The customary address spelt out assurances for formulation and promulgation of women policy, creation of labor Welfare Board for workers in unorganized sectors, Medical Corporation for supply of medicines to patients, Express Highway to serve KBK region and southern districts and over and above other ambitious programs, conversion of thatched houses to RC roofed ones in phased manner.

Speaker Niranjan Pujari adjourned the House thereafter till June 13, in honor of the lamented leaders and martyrs whom the House paid obituary respect.

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik seems to have developed a wrong notion that governance of Orissa in Oriya depends upon his mercy. His press-note of December 17 and full page display advertisement in major broadsheets of today force us to arrive at this apprehension.

In his December 17 press note it was declared that he had held a meeting with the five members of the ministerial committee on that day for the purpose of “strictly implementing the Orissa Official Language Act, 1954 in official and non-official level” to facilitate which a website has been floated by the government. In the full page multi-color advertisement in broadsheet dailies today, this is intriguingly missing.

The advertisement is designed to tell the people that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has taken historical steps to save and develop Oriya language, and has enumerated the steps he has taken. This is blatant lie. Neither he nor his government has executed any single item claimed to be “historical” in the official advertisement. The entire advertisement is nothing but false propaganda. What a shame it is, that, the people of Orissa are taken for granted by their Chief Minister! Read more →