Orissa Matters

Sivaganga Shows Us How Hollow Has Become Indian Democracy

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

Sivaganga representative in the Loksabha, P. Chidambaram has failed in his case against the election case filed against him in the Madras High Court. Yet he has remained the Home Minister of India and asserts that there are 111 election cases pending against elected MPs in Courts in the country and, hence, there is no necessity for him to resign.

His challenger Mr. Raja Kannappan of AIDMK claims that he had secured 3,34,348 votes as against Chidambaram’s 3,30,994. But by manipulation, the powerful central minister was declared elected by a margin of 3,354 votes. Among many other allegations found triable by the Court, one is: bribing of thousands of women voters belonging to self-help groups at the rate of Rs.500 each through his son Karti Chidambaram.

Chidambaram had tried to get the election petition quashed, first on technical ground, which the Court had turned down. Then he had filed a misc case seeking rejection of the election petition on the ground that it does not disclose any cause of action. This misc case is rejected too, with the observation that cause of action is convincingly disclosed.

The Court on June 7 has said, “A perusal of the various averments made in the election petition shows that sufficient material facts were made and it discloses cause of action for trial of the election petition. It also contains adequate statement of material facts on which the allegations of irregularities or illegalities in counting were founded … The contention that the election petition does not disclose any cause of action cannot be accepted.”

So, even before the final verdict comes on the election petition, it is established that Kannappan has adduced sufficient and strong material facts to justify Chidambaram’s trial for corrupt practices in election.

It is strange that instead of cooperating with the Court to close the case on proper hearing within the stipulated time, Chidambaram has played the dilatory tactics of filing misc cases one after one and stayed a MP and a Minister by stymieing the process of law, thereby denying the people of Sivaganga their legitimate right to be represented in the Loksabha without any stink of infection on democracy.

The shrewd fellows like Chidambaram are able to hijack democracy because of lack of exemplary punishment and because of absence of specific election courts.

Elsewhere in these pages we have, time and again, stressed upon creation of Election Courts in every state or Election Benches in every High Court and also in the Supreme Court with the only assignment of deciding election petitions.

From Chidambaram’s assertions it transpires that, like him, there are one hundred and eleven MPs, who are facing election cases, which means, in those 111 Loksabha constituencies, people are, because of delay in disposal of the cases, in dark about whether they have legal representation in the rampart of democracy.

Fortunately for R.P.Swain of my area, his petition has ended in his favor in both the Orissa High Court and the Supreme Court, a bit earlier; as a result of which, re-election has already been held in Athgarh_Tigiria and he has returned to the Assembly, whereby the people of my area have been able to have their legitimate representation in Orissa Assembly.

But the people of Sivaganga Loksabha Constituency are devoid of this opportunity as yet. So also, people of 111 Loksabha Constituencies in the country, of which Chidambaram has mentioned to pooh-pooh the Opposition demand for his resignation.

The fellows who manipulate elections also manipulate judicial systems to stay in illegal occupation of berths in Legislatures; because there is no specific Election Courts to decide the election cases within stipulated time.

Under subsection (6) of section 86 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 the High Courts are required to adjudicate upon election petitions continuously on “day to day” basis until their conclusion, whereas subsection (7) declares that “every election petition shall be tried as expeditiously as possible and endeavor shall be made to conclude the trial within six months from the date on which the election petition is presented to the High Court on trial.”

But normally as the High Courts are overloaded with cases of all natures, disposal of election cases, though essential for democracy, are in most cases, not even heard within the life time of a House constituted on the basis of the elections challenged.

This being a reality, the Second Administrative Reforms Commission had recommended for setting up of Special Election Tribunals to expedite timely disposal of election petitions.

But, as non-existence of such specific Tribunals/Courts are more suitable to shrewd fellows who occupy legislative berths illegally and become ministers, the above recommendation is never attended to.

Therefore, in these pages, we have been harping on about the necessity of creation of such Tribunals/Courts by Supreme Court through appropriate case laws.

In Chidambaram matter, howsoever belated it be, the Court has now removed the stymie he had cleverly put to its proceeding in the main case.

Instead of welcoming the decision and assuring to cooperate with the Court to conclude the case as quickly as possible by hearing the case “from day to day”, Chidambaram has started bragging about how his case is one of 111 such cases pending in the Courts!

Had he been any idiot in politics, the braggadocio could have been not such offensive. But he is the Home Minister of India. And, his conduct affects the country.

Will the Prime Minister wake up?

He is appointed and continues in the cabinet on the pleasure of the Prime Minister. So, it is incumbent upon the Prime Minister to say as to whether his Home Minister should resign following the rejection of his plea in the election case against him or continue to convert the case to a time-consuming instance of legal acrobatics till the life span of the present Loksabha passes away and the election case becomes infructuous.

Otherwise, this case shall show us, how hollow has become Indian democracy in the hands of Dr. Singh and his team.

Fanatical Face of Pipili: Rape is Our Prerogative; Action Against That is Not Yours

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

Orissa Gana Samaj that stresses on CBI inquiry into Pipili gang-rape, is facing police action, as the local police station – ill-famed for having given protection to the rapists – has entertained a FIR against its leaders, alleging, because of them, the rape having attracted national attention, face of Pipili has been blackened.

Pipili Assembly Constituency is in strong grip of ruling party BJD. No official here is expected to act independent of BJD influence.

Here, in the village Arjungoda, on 29 November 2011, a Dalit girl was found lying like a dead body in a paddy field abandoned by perpetrators of gang-rape who had tried to murder her after raping, as her living was dangerous to them, she being the only eye witness to a 2008 rape-cum-murder they had committed; and, assuming that she was dead, they had left her motionless body to be eaten away by scavengers.

But a villager stumbled upon the poor child in that pathetic condition and notified her family.

The shocked family took her to Pipili Hospital for immediate medical intervention and informed the police. None of them came to her rescue.

The girl was then taken to the Capital Hospital at Bhubaneswar, which not only blatantly neglected her, but also to eliminate the angle of rape, probably under political pressure, tried to make out a case of snake bite.

The girl, due to willful wrong treatment, went from senselessness to coma and her reference even to the SCB Medical College failed to fetch any proper medical attention; as if revival of her sense was not in the agenda of the government doctors.

She was discharged from the medical college without any medico-legal investigation even though her family had apprised the medical officer of the gang-rape and attempted murder.

As she was thus left without medical care, in the lap of slow death, in a condition of no attention from the State as police was not taking cognizance of rape and attempted murder, the local media took up the matter.

Surprisingly, the loudmouth bigwig of BJD, Minister (as he then was) Pradip Maharathi, representing Pipili in the Assembly, till then silent, woke up to intimidate the Press for reports of the rape!

The minister’s such unexpected attack on the media made the watchdog of journalistic interest, the Media Unity for Freedom of Press (MUFP) take up the issue and eventually, under its initiative, for the first time in the post-independence history of Orissa, politicians sans their party flags got united with the civil society against the government’s design to suppress this felony, which gave birth to the Orissa Gana Samaj (OGS), with representatives of MUFP – Prasanta Patnaik and Rabi Das – as its joint conveners.

The loudmouth minister had to resign from the cabinet; the Government had to readmit the victim in the medical college afresh and to arrange for her treatment under inspection and instructions from super-specialists and medical scientists from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi; and other official organs had to get activated. The Home department had to initiate action against the police inspector who had protected the rapists and the alleged rapists were arrested, notwithstanding howsoever farcical that was.

Had the OGS not taken up the matter, the victim could never have got government attention and the possibility of prosecution against the rapists could never even have developed.

So, the ruling party, its loudmouth leader who was forced to resign in the gang-rape context, its local hoodlums to which segment the alleged rapists belong, are acrimoniously angry upon the OGS.

Now as a FIR has been filed against the representatives of OGS by a man who claims that by exposing the gang-rape, they have embarrassed Pipili in the eyes of the nation, one is inclined to accept that there are elements in Pipili to whom raping a woman is not a crime against the land, but exposing the crime is a crime. This throws light on the liking of the party that rules over Orissa, specifically when such a mischievous FIR has been entertained by the police.

Prasanta Patnaik, Convener of OGS, has demanded that the matter in its entirety be handed over to CBI for an in-depth investigation, as the State Police seems to be in habitual nexus with the criminals.

Tempest in the Land of Scams: Ruling Party in Peril; No Alternative Visible

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

There is a tempest in the Scamsterdom.

Orissa, the land of peace-loving people, turned into a land of scams by the compradors in power, is seeing its ruling party rushing into peril. Yet there is no political alternative visible.

The BJD is breaking.

Its president Naveen Patnaik, has suspended Pyari Mohan Mohapatra, the real architect of the party’s 2009 electoral victory, due to jitteriness over news that he was trying to snatch away from him his twelve years old position as head of the State’s political government. The action is authored to dismiss him.

A year ago, on 23 May 2011, I had foreseen this. My caption was, “If Pyari Mohapatra is not dismissed, he will replace Naveen Patnaik as CM“. My analysis has come out correct. What I had expected to happen, has happened.

To stay safe in power, Naveen has played such stunts many times earlier. Whenever he has apprehended threat to his position from any member of the party, he has dismissed him/her from the cabinet or party post, even from the party, hurling unestablished charges and on flimsy grounds. To save his own skin, when a scam is exposed, he has also found scapegoats in any of his colleagues.

This time, along with Mohapatra, he has suspended two MLAs and dismissed three ministers from his cabinet because of suspicion that they were one with Pyari in the internecine rebellion.

But like the ministers or members dropped from the cabinet and/or dismissed from the party on earlier occasions, these persons are not the victims of Supremo-syndrome. These are the people, who, in the pack of sycophants constituting BJD, are of leadership quality reflected in their wisdom to revolt against the scams that have ruined Orissa.

Along with time, the rebels in BJD are bound to rise in numbers. Orissa is devastated by so many scams in the regime of Naveen Patnaik, that, people are looking at everybody known as his loyal colleagues with suspicion as a possible scamster for which, many in BJD, who are not involved in the scams, are feeling very awkward, embarrassed and suffocated.

They are in BJD, simply because there is no alternative available to them.

But they also know that the BJD brand will not help them in the next election.

Therefore they will try to explore if any alternative to Naveen could be discovered or built up.

Pyari Mohapatra has taken the first welcome step in this regard.

Many of BJD members will join him in course of time as people will wake up to save their State, which is bound to happen, and it would be increasingly clear that siding with scamsters will lead to their rejection in election.

By demanding CBI investigation into mining scams, Mohapatra has made it clear that saving Orissa from the scamsters will be his principal approach to election.

Mohapatra’s distinction

In fact, Mohapatra was the brain behind electoral victory of BJD in the last election. He shattered Naveen’s two-term old coalition with BJP by choosing its strongman K..V.Singhdeo’s political nerve centre Bolangir as the launching pad of his unilateral battle against BJP. He surprised everybody including his party by pronouncing his declaration to plant BJD candidates in all the constituencies in Orissa. Heavyweights in BJD, such as Dr. Damodar Raut did not hesitate to criticize Mohapatra’s assertion; but there was none to stop his steps.

Mahapatra’s steps not only broke the coalition with the rightist BJP, but also paved the way for electoral understanding with the left, thereby giving the party of compradors a cover of progressive color, which helped it face the electorate in a renewed spirit. Had it not happened, Dr. Raut who is leading the present attack on Pyari, might himself not have returned to the Assembly, the left being of immense influence in his area.

Mohapatra’s declaration that, in all the constituencies under occupation of BJP, there shall be his party candidates, also instantly ignited hope and aspiration in the low lying constituency level leaders of BJD for berths in the legislature, resultantly waking them up to ensure victory for the party, while leaving the unprepared former ally entirely perplexed.

This is why BJD had won.

BJD had won not because of popularity of Naveen, but because of assertive acumen of Pyari, which augmented the feeling of freedom to contest that the BJD workers in BJP constituencies were not having till then, because of the coalition.

Had Mohapatra not done this with determination and in time, the results of the election would have been different and Naveen could not have become the Chief Minister again.

The position was such, that, had he wanted, after the election, except at best a dozen of coastal area MLAs and a single MLA from Ganjam, all other MLAs of BJD could have stood behind him and instead of Naveen, he could have become the CM.

Yet, like Chanakya (Pyari was being aptly called Chanakya of BJD so far) he preferred to remain a king maker and therefore, it became possible for Naveen to become the CM , for the first time, on the strength of a single party, not of a coalition.

Naveen’s Predicament

But, curiously, when in the preceding two terms of heading a coalition with BJP, he had not faced any rebellion, either in the segment of allies or in his own party, Naveen is facing it now while heading his own party government and to such of his wit’s end, that he is not able to distinguish between personal loyalty and political prudence.

The situation shall not improve for him. He is in such a situation that he cannot escape the land-grabbers. He cannot extricate himself from the traps of POSCO, Vedant, Tata and the likes. None of these industries have come to Orissa on invitation of its government to execute projects planned and required by the State. They were in search of lands and mines; and have stumbled upon Orissa, where, to their advantage, compradors are in power. They have gained over the compradors in such manners that the State is waging wars on its own people at their behest. They are in a position to blackmail Naveen if at any point of time within his incumbency he dares to stop serving their interest. Thus it is not possible for Naveen to refuse to dance to the tune of the corporates.

In such a situation, whosoever in BJD is not involved with the scams and has respect for prudence in public life and loyalty for the motherland, will rise in revolt against him and join Pyari.

Plenty of sycophants
sans leadership quality

In the last more than a decade, precisely since BJD was formed, none but Pyari has proved to be a person of leadership quality. In the party of sycophants, he alone was the man from whom, the people know, the Chief Minister was taking instructions.

Now as he has been jettisoned, Patnaik will stay surrounded by the sycophants and, by the vested interests. Plenty of sycophants sans political acumen would be of no use to Naveen. This will further push Orissa into labyrinths of scams that people would no more tolerate. BJD ‘s peril will further deepen and deepen beyond management.

Orissa in turmoil

But it shall not end Orissa’s turmoil.

A political alternative to Naveen would be needed to save her from the scamsters, from the compradors.

Pyari, in the present environment, cannot give that alternative.

Because, being the de facto Chief Minister all these years, he cannot convince the people that he was not a party to the crimes committed by the de jure CM against the people.

To be able to offer the alternative, he is to come out with details against Naveen, because he knows where, when and how the CM has played his part in the scams.

He has started demanding for a CBI investigation into mining scam. Mining is not the only scam that has hit Orissa. The State is scam-stroke. And, Pyari knows it.

So, if he is sincere to the new role he aspires to play, he must reveal all that he knows of all the scams and all the details of Naveen’ collaboration therewith.

Instead of stressing on CBI inquiry, he should divulge details to the general public and thereby help the general public treat the traitors with appropriate action.

Biju experience

Let us not forget that Biju Patnaik, father of Naveen, on capturing the Chief Minister post for the first time, by prevailing upon Jawaharlal Nehru to quash Harekrushna Mahtab’s coalition with Bolangir’s former king R.N.Singhdeo, had generated so many scams that there was a mass uprising against him led by the students and youth of Orissa, consequent upon which he was forced out of office, though the Congress leadership in the center had given his dismissal a veil styled Kamraj Plan.

The Central Government had tried to hoodwink the people with a Cabinet Sub-Committee investigation, which, in fact, was a covering up exercise to help the bigwig of their party; but because of unrelenting protests against such protection to Biju, it had been forced to institute a probe by the CBI into allegations of scams against him.

The CBI tried its best to protect him also; but could not entirely ignore the massiveness of the scams he had masterminded and executed. It recommended for further investigation by a more powerful body alleging that the Orissa government (run by the party of Biju) did not properly cooperate with the sleuths conducting the probe.

The central government, instead of acting against Biju, slept over the CBI report.

What happened?

People punished Biju in the following general election, by bringing in the revived combine of Mahtab and Singhdeo (the coalition of Swatantra party and Jan Congress).

Biju tried to to return to power by forming a new regional party. But the people refused him mandate in the next election too.

So, instead of demanding a CBI inquiry, Mohapatra, if he is sincere in what he says, should place details of Naveen’s role in the mining and all other scams before the general public, so that the people can take their own decision.

Unless he does it, he cannot be the expected alternative, though, because of him, the ruling party of Orissa is certainly in peril.

Congress cannot be the alternative

India of the majority Indians is perishing because of the Congress; because of Manmohan Singh’s pernicious economic policies.

The cause of India is sabotaged to provide a bonanza to nuclear traders of USA. Fraud has been played upon Indian Constitution to serve the interests of avaricious industries and corporates.

The crimes that the Congress has committed against the country ever since Manmohans and Miukherjees and Montakes and Sonia’s and sycophants have emerged as planners and leaders are so monstrous that it would be a folly to accept the Congress as the alternative to Naveen in Orissa.

This is such a party that its central leadership has helped Naveen to defeat Congress in Orissa and to continue in power. To retrieve our democracy from the grip of plutocracy that its leadership has shaped, it should be the country’s top priority to get rid of the Congress and hence it would be wrong for Orissa to accept the Congress as an alternative to the BJD.

Despite cleaner members, BJP is neither

On the other hand, when in power, BJP was a party having a national president in a man like Banguru Laxman, now convicted with four years of rigorous imprisonment for having received money to facilitate a deal though thereby the country’s defense was to have been endangered.

Its government was a government also of George Fernandiz whose official residence was being used as a bribe hub in defense deals.

No government till then had a disinvestment ministry addressed to divest India of her industrial assets at the behest of private operators.

For the first time in India, a new pattern of culture was created and created by the BJP led government. It was the culture of corruption.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s blue eyed boy Pramod Mahajan, son of a low grade low-paid school teacher, had been able to amass an unestablished assets worth Rs.2000 Crores within a short span of time in the BJP regime.

This culture was so much in practice by BJP bigwigs that eight of its MPs were caught taking money for putting questions in Parliament, from from fellows who had ulterior interests in those questions. The Parliament had to dismiss them from membership to save its own dignity.

This party is also a party of real life compromise with the Congress. It had never condemned Jaswant Sinha for the farce he made of the Parliament in matter of BCCI, the bank of terror funding. There are many such instances where BJP’s expertise in sabotaging the cause of Indian democracy is so huge that depiction thereof is beyond the power of words.

For Orissa, therefore, this party may not emerge as the alternative, even though it is true that there are many in it, whom people of the State know as less corrupt and more competent than others.

Remote possibility

In the circumstances, an united left is the only credible alternative which can be made available to Orissa, if both the Communist Parties – the CPI and CPI(M) – can convince the people that they are repentant for their hobnobbing with the right viruses in the past in thirst for power and honor the revolutionaries whom the compradors are condemning and their collaborators in administration are torturing.

Such a left combine can constitute a progressive front with Pyari babu and his team of the BJD rebels; and, if this could be possible, it may also be possible for the less corrupt elements of BJP to join hands with this front.

There are many in civil society that are opposed to Naveen Patnaik in the cause of eco-systems, in the cause of environment, in the cause of human rights, jin the cause of right to employment, right to education, right to good health, and right to fair living et cetera.

The united left front, if it could be possible as contemplated above, can attract their active or moral support.Thus, an alternative may emerge.

But as on now it is not visible.

BAN ON JAN MYRDAL’S VISITS TO INDIA WOULD BE VIEWED AS AN ACT OF COMPRADORS

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

The Parliament in the Rajya Sabha has been told that the Central Government would ban Jan Myrdal’s future visits to India.

The people of India have no problem with Jan Myrdal, a radical journalist, a researcher, a scholar. a socio-political analyzer, a progressive thinker, a maker of feature films and documentaries, an acclaimed author of living history, who has written more than thirty books including ‘India Waits’.

His latest book on this country, ‘Red Star Over India: Impressions, Reflections and Discussions when the Wretched of the Earth are Rising’ was released in Kolkata Book Fair this year.

This book is so well documented and well received that before completion of six months of its launching, it has reached the second edition.

The people of the country are eager to read this book as a result of which its translation is being published in Bengali, Hindi, Punjabi, Telugu and Tamil even as publishers in several other Indian languages are in the stage of contract for bringing out translations in their respective languages.

In fact, Myrdal was in India this January-February on a one-month conference visa given by the Government to release this book in Kolkata book fair and to attend and address various meetings and conferences in Kolkata, Hyderabad, Ludhiana and Delhi, which he did to the utmost happiness of his audiences.

Persons of extraordinary erudition were in the audiences, in the designated venues and beyond, and heard him discuss how corporate influence on government is precipitating war on the people.

If government of India has been leading the people into euphoria on the trajectory of globalization created by capitalism, he ably helped his audiences peer into the gloom that capitalism has given birth to, from which the people in general need be rescued.

A man in emancipatory journalism, his world outlook is against capitalism. And, in vox populi, he is a friend of the wretched of the earth.

Naturally, he is not welcome where a government is run by compradors. Compradors are everywhere always afraid of progressive persons. Because they fear progressive persons generate revolutions.

Let us understand revolution.

Man never lives for ever. But revolution never dies.

From time immemorial, people everywhere in the world have marched ahead by way of revolution. They have marched ahead overcoming every obstacle on their way to collective progress and have revolted against every power that they have found a hindrance to their forward march and by that they have brought in changes in the course of administration, which is why progress is always linked to revolution. But revolution is fueled by interaction. Interaction enhances knowledge and streamlines expression, which shapes the revolution and paves the path towards progress.

In the cause of progress, when knowledge plays the pivotal role, people’s ability to express themselves freely is the basic ingredient, as free expression is the only launcher of knowledge.

Therefore, every attempt to obstruct free expression is an attempt to obstruct acquisition, exchange and spread of knowledge, which the human society never countenances.

Wherever freedom in expression is curtailed, the administration that imposes this curtailment, runs out of credibility and ends, because of a matching revolution against stymieing of freedom in expression.

Freedom in expression includes in itself the freedom of the people to gather relevant information from every source they want and for this, essential is freedom to interact with knowledgeable persons not reluctant to share their experience.

So, people of my country have the right to be benefited by interaction with a journalist of world repute like Jan Myrdal, whose books on India are books of living history.

No responsible government would like to ban his future visits to India, as that would be denying the people to know their living history and to gather information relevant to their democracy, under the plea that he sides with revolution that the ultra left leads.

The government has not yet told the people what exactly is this revolution and against whom this revolution is meant and why the government is so very afraid of it and is waging a war against the people who support it. But the way so very big extra amounts of fund are being allocated to development of the areas under influence of the revolution led by the ultra left makes it clear that the revolution is meant against condition of undevelopment and the factors thereof. This suggests, unless the left would not have raised the revolution, the idea of development of the backward areas and the most wretched people living therein could perhaps not even have grown in the government.

So, if people were left undeveloped and the government was busy in developing the developed instead of developing the undeveloped, and the ultra left has forced the government to read the writings on the wall and pay attention to development of the neglected people, why must journalists like Jan Myrdal be denied visa to record this living history for the global community on the basis of interaction with the involved people? If he has said that the war waged by the government against the people is caused because of avarice of the rich and executed by the agents of the rich for the safety of the rich, he has just shared with the people a phenomenon experienced all over the world under the design of capitalism. It does not disadvantage our country.

So, the people of our country will not want a ban on Jan Myrdal’s future visits. If the ban would really be imposed, that would be viewed as an act of compradors in whose cocoon Indian democracy is being metamorphosed into plutocracy.

Regrets

We regret that in the previous posting, the name of Ms. Aradhana Mishra was inadvertently noted as Ms. Anuradha Mishra. The wrong has already been corrected in the write-up. But in the communication to our esteemed followers, the correction could not have been effected, as, before location of the defect, the mail system could have delivered them the article.

We request all of them to please read Aradhana Mishra in place of Anuradha Mishra.

We sincerely regret the unintended lapse.