Illegitimate Health Cards : Create a Law dear CM

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

This is the hoarding of Biju Smart Health Card. The Chief minister is orally allotting thousands of crores of Rupees in its favor in cultivated meetings to propagate himself that to him,”every life is precious…”

The web upload informs that the “State Government will bear full cost of all health services delivered to all patients (irrespective of income, status or residence) in all State Government health care facilities starting from Sub centre level to District Head Quarter and Government Medical College Hospital and Blood Bank level.”

It also informs that the “State Government will bear the cost of healthcare provided in empanelled private hospitals for over 96.5 lakh economically vulnerable families in the State, amounting to Annual Health coverage of Rs. 5 lakh per family and additional Rs. 5lakh for the women members of the family after exhaust of initial limit.”

In all the government health institutions up to Government Medical College Hospital level, for all persons, all health services charges are borne by the State Government, including those for drugs, diagnostics, dialysis, Cancer chemotherapy, OT, I.C.U, in-patient admission blood bank services etc.,this web upload says, while declaring that, “families having BSKY Smart Health Card can avail cashless treatment at any empanelled private hospital under BSKY within or outside the State. They can also avail facilities such as registration, consultation, medical tests, pathologies, treatment, IPD and follow-up consultation under BSKY at any empanelled private hospitals, for which State Government will bear the cost upto the annual coverage amount.”

But the entire scheme is unauthorized. Its impact on the State’s exchequer that thrives on loan and distress sale of natural resources has never been studied. The State cabinet has never approved this package of expenditure. Finance Department has never concurred it. No Law has been created to administer the scheme and to control the accountability of the State.

The Card is nothing but a virus called Biju designed to infest democratic wisdom of the people, as, without that the CM cannot stay in power even for a day.

When people are not vigilant, miscreants are smart enough to dazzle them with such smart cards to bag their votes in elections and this has happened in Orissa.

But we may expect, the media in Orissa would act responsible and harp on the need to have a perfect Law to govern this Smart Health Card.

Health of democracy is under severe threat in this State where a “supremo” rules the roost and uses his whims like a prince to squander away the tax-payers’ money sans any respect for democratic accountability.

The fourth pillar of democracy has, therefore, a burden to shoulder.

“I would have worked for the spread of Communism”

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

I was interviewed by the Telegraph in September 2017 in the matter of our movement for governance of Orissa in Oriya Language, which is our State Language. The esteemed paper had given the interview an apt caption “I AM FIGHTING FOR ODIA PEOPLE & PRIDE”.

This interview is relevant to scholars that keep in mind the history of the fight of the “Fine Race of the Oriyas” to achieve its language-right.

We the people of Orissa had been fighting for a separate State where administration and business would run in Oriya, our mother tongue.

In whole of India, we the Oriyas alone had overwhelmed the invader British to such extent that they had to admit in the words of W. Forrester that the “nature of the Country and the disposition of the inhabitants will always present formidable obstacles to their suppression either by military or police”

They had, therefore, under the power of advanced war weapons, divided Oriya speaking tracts to four parts and by clubbing the divided parts to neighboring provinces of rival tongues had reduced us to linguistic minorities in those envious soils.

Gandhiji, in Young India had written on 18 February 1920, “This fine race cannot possibly make the natural advance which is its due, if it is split up into four divisions for no sound reason.”

We were not to remain silent. We raised our voice for amalgamation of all the Oriya speaking areas. In the world’s first peaceful movement, we forced the same British to bow down to our demand that allowed Orissa to emerge in 1936.

But, despite that, and despite a law having made our language the State language in 1954, we are yet to achieve our language-right.

The interview is of utmost relevance to how have we been dealing with the issue.

As I revisit the Telegraph page, the last question dear ace reporter Subhashish Mohanty had asked me, calls to note. He had asked, “What would you have been, had you not been in journalism?”

And, my instant answer was: I would have worked for the spread of Communism.

Now, friends, I feel, that would remain my last dream!

Modi’s act of repealing Agriculture Acts is again an act of authoritarianism

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

Repeal of the three Agriculture Acts by Prime Minister Modi is again an act of authoritarianism and it has not given back the people the environment of politicians-people partnership in nation building. The legislation was an act of autocratic imposition on Parliamentary wisdom and deletion thereof is not based on democratic vision.

On December 12,2020, I had suggested that the laws where the farmers find their doom should be repealed and the Government should pay heed to advice that any legislation imposed in autocratic manner would be viewed as harmful in a monstrous manner to democracy.

It is good that the PM has finally realized the fault.

But responsibility needs be fixed for willfully putting the country in such an unprecedented chaos for such a very long period that gave India the unfathomable sorrows of unnecessary death of so many farmers.

To whom this idea had come first needs be determined to find who was the wretched agent of the Dracula that was eager to drink the farmers’ blood.

Speaker must ask the CM to remain in the Assembly or recommend the Governor to dissolve it

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

Orissa Assembly has become a place of partnership in privileged hooliganism. Members of all the non-Communist parties have reduced it to condition of no legislative business. In absence of debating environment Guillotine replaces application of informed legislative minds, as has been happened on December 08 in matter of demands of two key departments like Home and General Administration & PG.

The Speaker has expressed his helplessness in controlling the situation.

But what happens to the Leader of the House – the Chief Minister?

His physical presence in the Assembly might have changed the situation. There is grave allegation against his closest ministerial colleague in the department of Home. He is dutybound to tell the House how he takes the matter.

Whether or not he is required to present himself in the Assembly in such a very unprecedented unruly situation should be settled through a ruling from the Speaker. If the Speaker fails to conduct the House and the Chief Minister doesn’t feel it essential to remain physically present to lead the Assembly, it would be proper for the Speaker to inform the Governor and to seek its dissolution, notwithstanding how the agitated members feel.

The farce must end.

Subjecting the Assembly into acts of fundamentalism is a crime the non-communist opposition have committed in Orissa

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

The Orissa Assembly is not functioning for the last four days, as both the non-communist opposition parties – the Congress and the BJP – have been playing tricks to transform this rampart of democracy into a hub of Hindu fundamentalism, hands in glove with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

Home (State) Minister of Orissa Divyashankar Mishra is involved with murder of a lady teacher of his area, they allege.

Hence, they have been demanding his resignation.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has paid no heed.

This being the time of Panchayat elections, both of these parties of opposition are eager to take advantage of the situation, even as the BJD supremo refuses to succumb to their demand, for reasons best known to himself.

Mishra’s unexplained delay in reacting to the allegation hurled at him has made the general public believe that he is guilty and thus the opposition attack has gained ground.

Here comes the conspiracy against the people, the three parties on the playground – BJP, Congress and BJD – together or hands in each-other’s gloves, have cooked up.

The BJP used cow-dungs and water of the Ganges to purify the Assembly premises yesterday, as, according to them, Mishra, the alleged perpetrator of the felony, ruined the sanctity of the august house by entered into its premises to attend the session. Today, the same act of Hindu fundamentalism was executed by the Congress. Naveen Patnaik, supremo of the BJD, who is being marked for his massive involvement in fomenting Hindu fundamentalism in management of temple-systems including that of Buddha, known as Sri Jagannath, has been shrewdly helping BJP and Congress to convince the people that cow-dung and gangajal (water of the Ganges) are the components that can emancipate them more manifestly than the constitutional provisions. In order to help them go ahead with this design, he is retaining Mishra in the ministry, even though, as is his wont, he should have been dismissed since long, when media had started zooming in on him.

Idiots do not understand this shrewd game.

Editor's Picks

Oriya Language created Orissa and therefore Orissa must be ruled by Oriya Language

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 →

Navakalevara: Legends and reality

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

Legends are the most misguiding mischief aimed at superimposing lies on reality so that indigenous people of an occupied land are kept too dazzled to see the dark face of the rulers and the class of exploiters can keep its victims subjugated to its authority, while forcing them to forget the heroic history of evolution of their own philosophy of life, their own splendid spiritual realizations, their own socio-economic uniqueness, their own ancient culture, their own valorous past, their own way of social integration and their own civilization.

We see this mischief galore in the context of Navakalevara of SriJagannatha.

So, here, we are to rip apart the legends and bring the reality of the Navakalevara to light, as thereby alone we can reach the lost uniqueness of the people of Orissa.

We will use Puri Sankaracharya’s self-proclaimed authority over Navakalevara to proceed with our purpose.

  Read more →

Samaja in Maze of Forgery: Two former Ministers of Orissa – Lingaraj Mishra & Radhanath Rath forged the WILL of Gopabandhu; Both benefitted till their death; SoPS continues to Loot

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

The Oriya daily SAMAJA founded by late Utkalmani Pandit Gopabandhu Das, to which, out of their love and reverence for the great humanitarian leader, the people of Orissa had and have been giving their financial and moral support, is in a menacing maze of forgery and loot.

Sadly, two of Gopabandhu’s trusted men – Lingaraj Mishra and Radhanath Rath – who, because of being known so, had the opportunity of becoming cabinet ministers in Orissa, were the masterminds and/or makers of the forgery from which the paper is yet to be salvaged.

Both of them – Lingaraj and Radhanath – had partnered with each other in forging the last WILL of Gopabandhu to grab the Samaja, which being Gopabandhu’s paper was of superb credibility and the greatest political instrument of the day. They had performed this crime behind the screen of and in nexus with Servants of the People Society (SoPS), of which, while breathing his last, Gopabandhu was the Vice-President. Read more →