This Election gives us a new leader in Siddharth Routray

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak
This election will help plutocracy to consolidate. Yet, to us in Orissa, it has given a new leader in Siddharth Routray.

He is a Congress candidate for Orissa Assembly from Nimapara constituency and the Congress is also a political weapon of plutocracy. In political economy, it doesn’t differ from BJP and BJD. Yet, in the climate of political opportunism prevalent in Orissa, he is distinctly different from professional politicians.

His instant approach to politics vis-a-vis the reality at the grass-roots level is best spelt out in his post-nomination first exclusive interview given to a noted channel. His unique honesty attracts our attention and with thanks to the channel, we share the same below for reference.

He has allowed himself to enter into the fray, not for any personal gain, but only for using the opportunity to make people conscious of the game Modi and Naveen have been playing under the canopy of Universal Adult Franchise.

This young political aspirant had dared the Himalayas to establish the mana of the Oriya Nation atop the world by wining Mt. Everest.

Siddharth, in his character and career, epitomizes Oriya mana. Now, as he has entered into active politics, Orissa is sure to get, notwithstanding results of the ensuing election, a strong votary  of Oriya mana in public life. 

Oriya mana lies in inviolable governance of Orissa in Oriya language. 

Welcome, dear Siddharth Routray to political life of Orissa.

If money is not confiscated, no gain in knowing who funded whom how much

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

The Supreme Court of India has helped us know which company/corporate has paid to which political party how much in the shape of Electoral Bond. Till it forced the State Bank of India to divulge the details of the EB, the funding was clandestine. If the clandestinely cultivated money is not confiscated, what is the gain in knowing who funded whom how much?   

An important issue before the Supreme Court was: 

“Whether unlimited corporate funding to political parties infringes on the principle of free and fair elections and equality.” 

And, the answer was:

“Unlimited contribution by companies to political parties is antithetical to free and fair elections, because it allows certain persons/companies to wield their clout and resources to influence policy making.”

Long ago, on 14 July 1963, Orissa’s first Chief Minister and the great Gandhian with marked urge for socialism, Nabakrushna Chowdhury, while inaugurating Gandhi Tattwa Prachar Kendra at Balasore, had expressed deep anguish over derailment of the democratic system due to nexus between the raisers of party fund and the wealthy men of commerce and industry that contribute the funds required to defray electoral expenses and influence policy making and administrative decisions to their own advantage. According to him, the fund raisers – he had named Prime Minister Nehru’s inner-circle man Rafi Ahmed Kidwai and West Bengal’s  Bidhan Chandra Roy, Bombay’s Morarjee Desai etc. – pave the path for the rich men in shaping up economic-administrative policies in such manners that they get well compensated by acquiring big mines and natural resources, making huge and unhindered profits on the strength of supports the Government run by the party gives. 

He recalled how he had called upon the top leadership to free the country from this nexus.

“Huge amounts are raised at the time of elections from big mine-owners and other rich businessmen for which no detailed accounts are kept. Those persons who raise such contributions on behalf of the party, distribute amounts to different candidates and keep a portion of the funds raised for their own institutions or their own factions and also appropriate a portion for their own selves”, he had informed the public. 

No leader of national repute had till then divulged this syndrome. In recalling how in 1955 in the A.I.C.C. session at Berhanpur, his suggestion to stop the practice of collection of funds from mines and industry owners and other business tycoons was poohpoohed by leaders, Chowdhury had stressed upon freeing the electoral system from the grip of big businessmen, as otherwise, they shall ruin the very purpose of the Republic by influencing the electoral system by their money. 

After so many decades, Chowdhury’s words are echoed in what the Supreme Court of India has said in the EB case. Large donors get a “seat at the table” and influence the policy, it has observed. 

Noting that, “Economic inequality leads to differing levels of political engagement because of the deep association between money and politics”, the Apex Court has said, unless the association between money and politics is stopped, the value of “one person, one vote” would have no meaning. 

We cannot but remember that, in responding to criticism over lack of any guarantee to save the people from the ill effect of economic inequality, in the third reading of the Constitution, Dr.Ambedkar had told the Constituent Assembly that, overwhelming presence of the wealthy and elite class in the Assembly had, no doubt, given birth to this result . But, despite that, the Assembly had given, he said, equal political status to every Citizen of the Country with the best of democratic value in shape of one person one vote, which will ensure that the first Lok Sabha shall be formed with true representatives of the people on the basis of vote of equal value. The very same Lok Sabha shall be in the position of eradicating the inequality the Constituent Assembly was circumstantially unable to do away with.  

“On 26th January 1950, we are going to enter into a life of contradiction. In politics, we will have equality and in social and economic rights we will have inequality. In politics we will be recognizing the principle of one man one vote, one value. In our social and economic rights we shall by reason of our social and economic structure, continue to deny one man one value”, he had confessed.

“We must remove the contradiction at the earliest possible moment or else those who suffer from inequality will blow up the structure of political democracy which this Assembly has so laboriously built up”, he has warned (CAD, Vol.XI,p.979).

The First Lok Sabha was not in a position to “remove the contradiction”, as shrewd politicians, as observed by Nabakrushna Chowdhury quoted supra, had already succumbed to the trap of the rich and by giving election- funds to the party in power, the avaricious businessmen were in a position to shape the policy of governance that suited them, making a fun of one person, one vote.

The Supreme Court in its judgment has tried to uphold the democratic value of one person, one vote on which alone the democratic sovereignty of India stands. It has shown how Electoral Bonds violate the value of one person, one vote, because of “deep association between money and politics.”

The scheme of EB has been declared unconstitutional. It is the best thing to happen in India, to tell the least. We have now come to know which company/corporation has contributed how much money to which party and we have also come to know the irregularities involved therein.   

But, in order to ensure that the economic inequality amongst the political parties generated by corporate funding, which “leads to differing levels of political engagements” making “one person, one vote, one value” unavailable to India, the money the political parties have obtained through the Bonds, needs be forthwith confiscated. 

If this illegally cultivated money is not confiscated, to us, there is no gain in knowing who funded whom how much. 

Oriya Nation shall have to save itself

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, like his father Biju Patnaik, is entirely averse to Oriya Language.

Biju had pushed Orissa into predominance of English Language in 1963 by arbitrarily amending the Orissa Official Language Act, 1954 with blatant disrespect to Constitutional stipulations, while asserting that the English Language being the Language of the Master (Orissa Legislative Assembly Debates, 30.09.1963) is a must for administration, if Orissa is to progress. He even had shown the audacity to describe India as “not a Country all” (page 108, Assembly debate, 1985) because of the presence of  languages like Oriya.

His son Naveen has used fraudulent means to push the Orissa Official Language Act into irrecoverable atrophy , even causing a Cabinet Scam – unprecedented in the annals of parliamentary democracy – because of his stronger aversion to Oriya Language. 

With political education and class consciousness conspicuous by absence in the grassroots, there is no possibility of any alternative to emerge in Orissa. Political economy of avarice is so widespread that patriotic wisdom is hard to manifest in the ensuing election.

Under the circumstances, people of Orissa shall have to wake up to save their own language , stressed the founder of Bhasha Andolan, Orissa in a Facebook-live message on the occasion of Utkal Divas, the day of emergence of the splendid motherland of the Nation of the Oriyas 88 years ago. Below is the same brought to YouTube for the esteemed visitors to this site.

MadhuJanata would be the vociferous part of Bhasha Andolan

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

There is a section of people in Orissa known as Biju Janata. Another section is  Modi Janata (Mr. Narendra Modi being the synonym of Bharatiya Janata Party). Yet another segment is Sonia Janata (notwithstanding who presently leads, Sonia Gandhi being its de facto controller).

The rest of the people are MadhuJanata. On March 24, an organisation in the same name is launched. When Kala Pataka Abhijan (Black Flag Campaign) is the silent instrument of Bhasha Andolan, it shall be the vociferous organ.   

What this organ shall do, is spelt out in the video message placed below, delivered live in Facebook on March 25. 

 

Naveen no more, if Aparajita named the next CM!

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak
The political scenario in Orissa is getting murkier everyday with poll pundits failing to grasp why the expected coalition between BJP and BJD is not taking shape, even as the ranks and files of both the parties do not show any eagerness to reorient themselves to match the ethics of alliance.

BJD autocrat Naveen Patnaik has, in the meantime, taken stock of his party’s preparedness in a few Parliamentary constituencies. But more than helping his party’s electoral preparation, this exercise is viewed as a design to keep the morale of his files in tact.

BJD files are facing inclement climate in Orissa as people in general are visibly disillusioned with Naveen for his anti-Oriya attitude thanks to consistent BlackFlag Campaign (KalaPataka Abhijan) of Bhasha Andolan. The Oriyas have been silently watching how he has been deliberately contravening the Orissa Official Language Act, 1954 everyday in his discharge of official duties to the total disadvantage of the children of the soil. The have silently digested the ignominy of their Chief Minister resorting to Cabinet scam and forgery in amendment of this Act in order to obliterate the possibility of administration of Orissa in Oriya Language. Due to Naveen’s anglicised mentality, the splendid soil of the Oriyas has almost become a dominion of his Tamilian Rasputin, who was a mere public servant surviving on salary from the State Treasury yesterday, but because of Naveen’s mysterious weakness towards him, has become today the de facto ruler of the State.

The Oriyas  are eager to avenge. But to them, no alternative is available.

People have not pardoned the Congress, which, in reality, is guilty of rendering the aim of our Republic inconsequential by subjugating India to GATT-WTO and Nuke deal with USA. Its pro-USA economic policies had, in reality, defeated the  sovereign resolve WE THE PEOPLE OF INDIA had adopted to constitute our country into a SOVERIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC.

In these pages we had portended doom for Congress, as we had sensed massive wrath in public against the stooges of USA like Manmohan Singh and his gang.   The Congress, despite Rahul Gandhi’s sincere endeavours, is yet not excused by the masses, particularly in Orissa. 

Communists are not in a position to form a Government in 2024. 

Hence the only alternative to Naveen raj appears to be the BJP, though their religious chauvinism is anathema to the cult of Jagannath that inherently controls the mindset of the “fine race” of Oriyas, who stand for liberal attitude to religion.

BJP is to do away with this defect in order to win the Oriya heart.

Perhaps it is taking time to project a CM candidate whose public image would not be found soiled with religious chauvinism. Such a candidate would be available to BJP in Ms. Aparajita Sarangi, presently member of Lok Sabha from Bhubaneswar,  who is marked for her adherence to administrative ethics than to upkeep places of worship, When she was Municipal Commissioner at Bhubaneswar, she had pressed bulldozers to demolish Hindu temples in different places of the City to free roads of obstacles. Hence, if she could be projected as the CM candidate, BJP may win in the special circumstances, notwithstanding aversion of general public to the party of profiteers.

In the circumstances, it can be safely predicted that discarding the coalition idea, if BJP fights alone with Ms. Aparajita Sarangi as its candidate for the post of CM, it would win the election for Orissa Assembly with corresponding success in Lok Sabha constituencies. 

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 →