Et tu, Naveen!

Is Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik letting political compulsions get in the way of his avowed commitment to probity in public life? Political pundits, opposition leaders and, significantly, some veterans from Patnaik's own party assert that the CM has veered away from his hitherto consistent policy to keep tainted ministers out of his Cabinet.

In a reshuffle on August 2, he dropped five ministers and inducted nine new ones. Nothing unusual there but for the fact that five of new entrants are either involved in corruption cases or are under a cloud for political misdemeanours and non-performance.

For a CM who has, in 12 years, punished as many as 35 corrupt or wayward ministers by sacking them or securing their resignation, the latest reshuffle is a clear diversion from the ground rules he has followed thus far.

Political analyst Basant Das says, "This is the first time that the CM has inducted elements whom he had either sacked from his ministry or denied ministerial berths in the past despite their seniority and political clout."

A former Odisha minister says, "A large section of BJD is wondering why Patnaik has inducted these tainted politicians. We know that 'loyalty' has now become the major parameter after the unsuccessful 'coup' attempt by senior party leader and MP Pyari Mohan Mohapatra. The CM has 100 MLAs to choose from. Where is the need to pick those that are not clean?"

In the past, a minister who fell from grace would find it difficult to get back into Patnaik's good books. In the 12 years that he has been CM, only four sacked ministers have been able to make a comeback. But that was then.

Political exigencies are at play now. The new Health and Family Welfare Minister Damodar Rout was dropped in August 2010 after he allegedly made an anti-Dalit remark in a public meeting. Rout, who was made agriculture minister in 2009, had publicly labelled Jagatsinghpur MP Bibhuprasad Tarei, the constituency's MLA Bishnu Das and Additional District Magistrate Upendra Mallick as Harijans, which was a violation of the law and a punishable offence. Several Dalit rights organisations demanded the minister's resignation after registering a case with the local police.

Similarly, Rabinarayan Nanda, who has staged a comeback as mass education minister, was asked to resign during Patnaik's second term in March 2006. Nanda, the then water resources minister, had resigned after a sting operation caught him allegedly offering a bribe to an opposition MLA to suppress incriminating facts relating to his involvement in a liquor tragedy during his tenure as state excise minister. Nanda was named by the judicial commission that had inquired into the 2001 Puri hooch tragedy. The report was submitted to the state government in December 2005. But instead of placing the report before the Assembly, attempts were being made to hush it up.

The case of the new Forest and Environment Minister Bijayshree Routray is pretty much the same. The former health and family welfare minister was asked to resign from the Cabinet when World Bank officials complained that he had allegedly accepted a bribe for the implementation of the Orissa Health Systems Development Project.

Though the opposition demanded a CBI inquiry, the state government directed the vigilance department to conduct a probe. The latter gave Routray a clean chit after an investigation.

Naveen's newly appointed Panchayati Raj Minister Kalpataru Das, too, has a dodgy background. The three-time MLA had been denied a berth in the Odisha ministry. He was in the news last year for his alleged involvement in illegal mining, which came to light when vigilance sleuths raided a transport company owned by his son. The sleuths seized 35,000 metric tonne iron ore worth Rs 30 crores belonging to a mining group from a railway stockyard. The pile was allegedly in the custody of the transport company.

According to sources, another vigilance case is pending against Das since 1998 for his alleged involvement in massive financial irregularities during his tenure as the chairman of the state-run Konark Television Ltd. It has been alleged that during his tenure, he sucked the company dry and ran it to the ground.

The story of two-time MLA Arun Sahoo, who has been made the state's energy minister by Patnaik, is somewhat different. He faces no corruption charges but is allegedly involved in the death of a party worker in the premises of his official residence in Bhubaneswar.

In April 2006, the body of one Chhabi Burdhan, aged around 30 years and belonging to Sahoo's constituency, was found hanging from a tree in the latter's premises. Though Sahoo claimed that the death was a case of suicide, opposition parties and his opponents alleged foul play in Burdhan's death and demanded his arrest. Succumbing to pressure, the state government had ordered a crime branch investigation, which has not been completed yet.

Reacting to the recent reshuffle, PCC president Niranjan Patnaik says, "The CM has brought tainted politicians back into the ministerial fold. How can the people expect any improvement in the present condition of the state with such leaders in positions of authority?"

Some BJD stalwarts, too, are upset with Patnaik. When TSI sought Pyari Mohan Mohapatra's reaction, the MP said: "What can I say? Individuals who are not fit to be MLAs have been given ministerial berths."

Former minister and BJP legislator KB Singhdeo avers, "Patnaik's latest reshuffle clearly indicates that he has lost his grip over the party. He has chosen leaders who can help him control the dissidents." Subrat Tarai, a newly inducted minister, defends the CM's choices. "In a democracy like ours, the CM has the power to choose his ministerial colleagues. Being the undisputed leader of our party, he has chosen the right people. We have seen how the people of Odisha have expressed their support for the CM just after the coup attempt, so the question of deviating from principles does not arise at all."

Political analysts feel that after facing the first-ever challenge to his leadership, Patnaik has been compelled to purge his Cabinet of partymen he suspects of having links with Mohapatra. "Under political compulsion and the new political equations, the CM has thrown his principles to the winds," says Basant Das.

dhrutikam.mohanty@thesundayindian.com