Love for Odia

Prime Minister Narendra Modi made Union tribal affairs minister Jual Oram’s birthday on March 22 special by wishing him in Odia. “Apanaka janmadin abasarre mor hrudaybhara subheccha grahan karibe. Am deshara janasadharankar seba kariba pain bhagban aparnku dirgha niramaya jiban eban khusir ashirbad diyantu,” (Please accept my heartfelt wishes on the occasion of your birthday. May God bless you with a long healthy and happy life to serve the people of our country) read the PM’s birthday message to the minister. While Jual must be feeling on top of the world, the PM’s gesture has also struck a chord with many in the state. “It shows Prime Minister’s love and respect for Odia language,” said a Jual supporter on Facebook. 

Batsman Anant 

During the last Raahgiri in the state capital, mayor Anant Narayan Jena was seen playing cricket. He was batting extremely well and making bowlers toil. Someone in the crowd said: “Jena is not going to give away his wicket so easily. The bowlers need to change their tactics against him.” Aware that it was a politically-loaded comment, the mayor, whose ambitions of becoming an MLA were thwarted last time by the machinations of his political rival, retorted: “Try your best but you just can’t bowl me over. It’s not that easy.” Those who understood the importance of his statement, nodded their heads and gave knowing smiles. 

Pro-farmer 

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik skipped Holi celebrations to express solidarity with farmers who lost their crops to drought. Most other BJD leaders also followed suit. The BJD office near Capital Hospital wore a deserted look in sharp contrast to the offices of the BJP and the Congress, where party workers and leaders smeared one another with colours. However, there were a few brave exceptions when culture minister Ashok Panda and excise minister Damodar Rout celebrated Holi at home. While Panda did it in the name of promoting and preserving tradition and culture, Rout offered no such excuses. He played Holi obviously because it offered him the opportunity to mingle with supporters and well-wishers.

Upset leader

Former state BJP president and senior party MLA from Patnagarh K.V. Singh Deo seems to be sulking. The first signs of the scion of Balangir royal family not being in a happy frame of mind became visible when he refused to be considered for the post of BJP legislature party leader after Basant Panda, who held the post earlier, was anointed as the state president. 
Though senior party leaders continued to harbour hopes of persuading him to accept the post as he happens to be the senior-most MLA of the party, Singh Deo went public by saying he was not interested in the job and would turn down any such offer. The buzz in the party is Raja Sahab is upset because he wanted another term as the state party chief. 

Jumbo problem

Forest and environment minister Bikram Kesari Arukh is dealing with a jumbo problem. With as many as 193 elephants being killed in the state in the last three years, he is facing flak from environmentalists and animal lovers. The biggest challenge before Arukh is tackling the threat of poaching as statistics have revealed that a large number of elephants have fallen prey to poisoning and deliberate electrocution - all handiwork of poachers. Unfortunately for Arukh, his department’s ambitious plan of creating new elephant corridors has not worked well, with elephants still straying into human habitations. 

Sources in the forest department said the worried minister is now working extra time to save the elephant population. 

FOOTNOTE

Lulu’s battle

Differences within the state Congress over several important issues are becoming increasingly apparent. First there was a major difference of opinion over the arrest of former party MLA Ramesh Jena, who is currently in jail. Now, it seems the party is divided over allegations levelled against BJD minister Sanjay Das Burma by former Brahmagiri MLA Lalatendu Bidyadhar Mohapatra aka Lulu. A section of Congress leaders have come to view this as a personal war between Mohapatra and Das Burma which is unlikely to benefit the party much. The initial enthusiasm generated by the issue seems to have dissipated with the passage of time and the fact that Das Burma, too, has struck a tough posture. “Lulu is waging his own battle against his political rival. Why should the entire party get involved in this?” asked a Congress leader.