Srikant Jena

Bhubaneswar, July 12: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s ministry rejig today has practically vindicated the Opposition charge of Congress-led UPA neglecting Orissa.

The exercise comes as a big let down for Oriyas with no new faces from the state finding a place in the ministry and the Prime Minister refusing to elevate Srikant Jena, the lone MP from Orissa in his team, to the cabinet rank.

This was the least he could have done to assuage the hurt sentiments of people of Orissa. Even Jena, who, as a consolation, has been given additional charge of statistics and programme implementation as the minister of state (Independent) along with chemical and fertilisers, is reported to be unhappy. However, he has ruled out the possibility of resigning.

Jena had been a cabinet minister in the ministries led by H.D. Deve Gowda and I.K. Gujral in 1996-98 and expected his seniority to be respected when he was inducted into the Prime Minister’s team. Jena, 61, was a minister of state in the V.P. Singh government in 1989 and had joined the Congress party. In 2009, he refused to attend office for sometime as a mark of protest after being made a minister of state. Disappointed once again, Jena is expected to take up the issue with the Prime Minister and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.

The minuscule representation accorded to the state, which accounts for 21 Lok Sabha seats, of which six were won by the Congress last time, has irked leaders cutting across the party line.

However, the Congress sources said the elevation of Jena to the cabinet rank was being opposed by a powerful section of the faction-ridden Congress party in the state, as Jena was a prominent face in the anti-Congress politics. As a loyalist of late Biju Patnaik, he had defeated Congress stalwart J.B. Patnaik and his wife Jayanti Patnaik in the Lok Sabha polls in 1989 and 1991, respectively.

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik was among the first to criticise the exercise undertaken by the Prime Minister. “It is really disappointing that no new face from the state has been included in the ministry,” he said.

The Congress leaders, too, expressed disappointment. “We were very hopeful that Jena would be elevated to the cabinet rank and at least two new faces would be inducted in the UPA government. We are feeling let down,” said a senior party leader.

The Congress leaders, who had been frontrunners for a ministerial berth were Nabarangpur MP Pradeep Kumar Majhi, former Union minister and Kalahandi MP Bhakta Charan Das, former chief minister and Sundergarh MP Hemanada Biswal. Even Rajya Sabha member Ramachandra Khuntia was among the probables. Though not willing to speak out openly, some Congress leaders said with AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi due to arrive in Orissa tomorrow on a two-day visit, the Prime Minister should have been generous towards the state while effecting the rejig. “This would have encouraged the party rank and file. We have a number of issues, including the Vedanta controversy, which Rahulji himself had taken up,” said one of the leaders.

Kalahandi MP Das was guarded in his reaction. “We have to respect the decision of the Prime Minister and the high command. There are several factors which must have weighed on their mind.” Pradesh Congress Committee president Niranjan Patnaik said: “Everyone would have been happy if one or two MPs from Orissa were accommodated in the ministry. However, it would not be wise on my part to comment on the judgement of someone like the Prime Minister.”

The senior Congress leader and former Union minister Kanhu Charan Lenka said: “No one should think that the UPA government has let Orissa down. The ministry expansion is done taking a number of political factors into consideration.”

Senior BJP leader Biswa Bhusan Harichandan said: “During the NDA regime, there were at least two cabinet ministers in the Union ministry. The Centre was also ever ready to help Orissa. That is totally missing now.”