Loose canon
 

Trust former minister Suresh Routray to speak the truth even at the cost of embarrassing his party. The other day talking to a private TV channel, Routray, who happens to be the father-in-law of incumbent Pradesh Congress Committee chief, Prasad Harichandan, admitted that Congress was in a bad shape because of differences among senior leaders. 

He even recalled the big fight between former chief minister J. B. Patnaik and veteran Basant Biswal, both of whom are no more, saying that it vitiated the atmosphere in the party that has been out of power in the state for the past 15 years. 

The interview has caused an uproar in the party circles with a majority of leaders agreeing with the fair assessment of the Congress’s state of affairs made by the mustachioed former minister lovingly referred to as Sura Bhai.

Sacred mementos

The Puri Jagannath temple authority’s bid to put the parts of the chariots, used in the last few rath yatras, for sale seems to be drawing a good response. Sources said that among others, Puri collector Aravind Agarwal’s father had evinced interest in buying a chariot wheel, which the devotees would obviously like to have as sacred mementos. The ingenious scheme could fetch the cash-strapped temple authorities a handsome amount. In the past, too, the temple had floated schemes to shore up its revenues. While some generated good response from the well-heeled donors, the others were not quite as successful. The present scheme, however, is being seen as a winner.

Serial saga

The saas-bahu serials have been a hit with many women cutting across the age divide. They still constitute the staple afternoon diet for them in the country. No wonder one finds television sets even at railway stations and airports playing them, mostly when cricket matches are not being aired. However, one would least expect the regional passport office in Bhubaneswar to keep one of such serials on during office hours. But, there it was playing 
on the screen in the document screening arena on the ground floor of the building with many eyes glued to it. However, some visitors present there were also murmuring whether it would not be proper 
for the authorities to switch on some news channel so that all could benefit.

IIM tussle

Aware that the issue of choosing the right location for the proposed Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in the state continues to be sensitive, technical education minister Sanjay Dasburma is treading cautiously. While he has refused to make any political statements, the minister has been taking media into confidence where necessary. For example, he wasted no time in going to the media about the complete preparedness of his department in replying to the queries raised by the Union human resources ministry with regard to the choice of Sambalpur as a possible location for the premier institute. 

By doing this, he not only thwarted his rivals in other political parties from taking advantage of the issue, but also succeeded in convincing the people at large that everything was open and above board so far the government’s dealing of the matter was concerned.

Trying luck

Former minister Prasanna Acharya is said to be keen to move back to Rairakhol from Bijepur, the constituency that proved unlucky for him in the last Assembly election. Ever since Acharya lost to Congress’s Subal Sahu at Bijepur, his followers have been insisting that he go for a change of constituency. With the option of Bargarh closed to him as his nephew, Debesh Acharya, holds the seat, the only viable alternative seems to be Rairakhol, which had sent him to the Assembly in 2009. There has also been speculation about Acharya trying his luck from Sambalpur next time but with BJD’s Raseswari Panigrahy giving a good account of herself in the constituency, this seems unlikely to happen. Besides, the BJP, too, enjoys a strong base in the area. At Rairakhol, Acharya has to try and edge out sitting MLA Rohit Pujari, who remains a soft target.

Footnote

Game for fight

Forgotten by the very people who once paid court to him, Odisha Jan Morcha chief Pyari Mohan Mohapatra is desperately trying to hold his own ground on the slippery political turf of the state. 

The spotlight was back on him last week as speaking to a TV channel he described the misadventure of May 29, 2012, when he was accused of planning a rebellion against chief minister Naveen Patnaik, a tactical mistake. 
The interview also indicated that the bureaucrat-turned-politician might be down, but he was certainly not out. The way he sought to liken himself to the ant that crawled into the elephant’s trunk (in this case the chief minister) causing it great distress showed that he was still game for a battle.