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Addressing a series of election meetings in communally sensitive Kandhamal district, the ruling BJD supremo said ratio of poverty had come down among tribals and dalits of Orissa during last five years.
"I am committed to the welfare of tribal and dalits in next five years also," Patnaik assured the gathering at Tumudibandha, K Nuagaon, Raikia and Phiringia which had witnessed large scale violence last year in the aftermath of the VHP leader Laxmananda Saraswati's killing.
Patnaik was the third prominent leader after BJP's Rajnath Singh and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi who held meetings in Kandhamal before the April 16 polls.
While Rajnath Singh and Rahul Gandhi addressed one meeting each in Kandhamal, Patnaik attended at least four meetings.
The chief minister also reminded the people about the state government's special package for Kandhamal announced after the communal violence.
"The state government has launched several welfare scheme on its own resources without depending on the Centre which neglected the state," Patnaik said.
Referring to the recent communal violence which claimed at least 43 lives, burning of hundreds of houses and attack on churches, Patnaik alleged that the BJP was trying to create disturbance in the state.
"Therefore, we have severed ties with the BJP," Patnaik said in a bid to erase communal tag on his party made in the wake of the anti-Christian riot.
Poll-bound Kandhamal prays for elusive peace
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PHULBANI: Life was never easy for Jamini Mallick. It has become difficult since the past eight months. Forced to shift from one relief camp to another, this native of a nondescript village in Raikia area of Kandhamal district does not talk about the need for development or poverty amelioration in her homeland although elections are around a week away. She, like many other victims of last year's ethno-communal riots, has one poll wish on her lips: "It should not accentuate the existing societal divide on religion lines."
But the policiticians do not seem to care much about such a wish. Can there be elections in present-day Kandhamal, which has become a laboratory for conversions and reconversions, without religion playing its part? Those who understand the realities at ground zero would definitely reply in the negative. And some of those contesting for either of the three Assembly seats in the district or for the Kandhamal Lok Sabha constituency (also spanning neighbouring Boudh, Ganjam and Nayagarh districts) are, overtly or covertly, busy flashing the communal card to cater to their targeted vote banks.
"Religion is the issue in Kandhamal polls. It cannot be avoided," BJP's LS candidate Ashok Sahu said, in an honest admission. Sahu, state Hindu Jagaran Samukhya president, has been telling public gatherings how Christians plotted the August 23 murder of Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and how conversions by Christian missionaries was the root cause of all discord in Kandhamal. Even BJP MLA Karendra Majhi, who is seeking reelection from Baliguda (ST) seat, has not minced words when it comes to hardselling the Hindutva agenda. Their speeches have not escaped the election observers' notice and both have already been served showcause notices, official sources said. The other two BJP nominees Manoj Pradhan (G Udayagiri) and Deba Narayan Pradhan (Phulbani) are also believed to be basing their campaigns on the communal plank, though nothing amiss have been found about their electioneering yet.
Incidentally, Manoj Pradhan, prime accused in the riots with over a dozen cases registered against him, is currently incarcerated and it is his diehard supporters who are doing the job for him.
While BJP's gameplan seems amply clear, BJD and Congress cannot claim to be holier-than-thou. These two parties might not match the saffron organization when it comes to identifying which religion they stand for, but by repeatedly dubbing BJP as "communal" and describing themselves as "secular", they seemingly want to woo the sizeable Christian community. "Christians usually prefer Congress as we are for safeguarding of minority interests. The BJD-BJP government did nothing to protect them during the riots. Ergo, we expect the Christians to vote for us to keep the communal BJP and opportunistic BJD out of power," a Congress man emphatically stated.
But BJD's LS candidate Rudramadhab Ray rubbishes it. "Everybody knows BJP was responsible for the riots and hence BJD dissociated itself from the saffron outfit. The Congress is good at playing divisive politics. BJD is true to secularism. Religion is not an issue for us. Both Hindu and Christian voters are supporting us," he asserted. BJD, apparently, to maintain religious parity has fielded candidates from both communities. If Dinesh Singh Pradhan (Baliguda) and Debendra Kanhar (Phulbani) are Hindus, then Loksuna Majhi (G Udayagiri) is a church-goer. Moreover, the entry of Christian leader Swarupananda Patra, a key minority voice during the riots, into the Naveen Patnaik party just ahead of polls had triggered controversy with BJP accusing BJD of favouring minorities.
Whatever the case, the truth about Kandhamal in Election 2009 is that it has become a high-profile constituency thanks to its communal conflict. If BJP national president Rajnath Singh has already paid a visit, then Congress' Rahul Gandhi would be doing so on Wednesday. While a trip by Naveen is a certainty, BJP still hopes that its trump card Narendra Modi (who couldn't make it on April 5) would show up before April 16, the date till which Jamini and others in Kandhamal's interiors would keep their fingers crossed, praying for nothing but peace.
PHULBANI: Life was never easy for Jamini Mallick. It has become difficult since the past eight months. Forced to shift from one relief camp to another, this native of a nondescript village in Raikia area of Kandhamal district does not talk about the need for development or poverty amelioration in her homeland although elections are around a week away. She, like many other victims of last year's ethno-communal riots, has one poll wish on her lips: "It should not accentuate the existing societal divide on religion lines."
But the policiticians do not seem to care much about such a wish. Can there be elections in present-day Kandhamal, which has become a laboratory for conversions and reconversions, without religion playing its part? Those who understand the realities at ground zero would definitely reply in the negative. And some of those contesting for either of the three Assembly seats in the district or for the Kandhamal Lok Sabha constituency (also spanning neighbouring Boudh, Ganjam and Nayagarh districts) are, overtly or covertly, busy flashing the communal card to cater to their targeted vote banks.
"Religion is the issue in Kandhamal polls. It cannot be avoided," BJP's LS candidate Ashok Sahu said, in an honest admission. Sahu, state Hindu Jagaran Samukhya president, has been telling public gatherings how Christians plotted the August 23 murder of Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and how conversions by Christian missionaries was the root cause of all discord in Kandhamal. Even BJP MLA Karendra Majhi, who is seeking reelection from Baliguda (ST) seat, has not minced words when it comes to hardselling the Hindutva agenda. Their speeches have not escaped the election observers' notice and both have already been served showcause notices, official sources said. The other two BJP nominees Manoj Pradhan (G Udayagiri) and Deba Narayan Pradhan (Phulbani) are also believed to be basing their campaigns on the communal plank, though nothing amiss have been found about their electioneering yet.
Incidentally, Manoj Pradhan, prime accused in the riots with over a dozen cases registered against him, is currently incarcerated and it is his diehard supporters who are doing the job for him.
While BJP's gameplan seems amply clear, BJD and Congress cannot claim to be holier-than-thou. These two parties might not match the saffron organization when it comes to identifying which religion they stand for, but by repeatedly dubbing BJP as "communal" and describing themselves as "secular", they seemingly want to woo the sizeable Christian community. "Christians usually prefer Congress as we are for safeguarding of minority interests. The BJD-BJP government did nothing to protect them during the riots. Ergo, we expect the Christians to vote for us to keep the communal BJP and opportunistic BJD out of power," a Congress man emphatically stated.
But BJD's LS candidate Rudramadhab Ray rubbishes it. "Everybody knows BJP was responsible for the riots and hence BJD dissociated itself from the saffron outfit. The Congress is good at playing divisive politics. BJD is true to secularism. Religion is not an issue for us. Both Hindu and Christian voters are supporting us," he asserted. BJD, apparently, to maintain religious parity has fielded candidates from both communities. If Dinesh Singh Pradhan (Baliguda) and Debendra Kanhar (Phulbani) are Hindus, then Loksuna Majhi (G Udayagiri) is a church-goer. Moreover, the entry of Christian leader Swarupananda Patra, a key minority voice during the riots, into the Naveen Patnaik party just ahead of polls had triggered controversy with BJP accusing BJD of favouring minorities.
Whatever the case, the truth about Kandhamal in Election 2009 is that it has become a high-profile constituency thanks to its communal conflict. If BJP national president Rajnath Singh has already paid a visit, then Congress' Rahul Gandhi would be doing so on Wednesday. While a trip by Naveen is a certainty, BJP still hopes that its trump card Narendra Modi (who couldn't make it on April 5) would show up before April 16, the date till which Jamini and others in Kandhamal's interiors would keep their fingers crossed, praying for nothing but peace.
Kandhamal victims demand postponement of polls
Kandhamal victims demand postponement of polls
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New Delhi (PTI): Victims of Kandhamal riots on Wednesday demanded postponing of the polls in the violence-hit area of Orissa, claiming that a large number of people were still living in the relief camps and would not be able to cast their votes.
A delegation of victims, which is in the national capital to meet the Election Commission members in this regard, said the commission should monitor the "hate speeches" being made by fundamentalists in the area.
"A large number of people are forced to live away from their homes as Hindu fundamentalists are threatening them. They are also making hate speeches against Christians to polarise the votes in the communally sensitive area," noted social activist Teesta Setalvad alleged.
They victims claimed that over 22,000 people, who have been displaced during the anti-Christian riots last year following the killing of Swami Laxmanand Sarswati, are still living in the relief camps and would not be able to cast their votes due to continued tense situation in the State.
The delegation also met National Human Rights Commission and UN Commissioner for Human Rights here and appraised them about the situation there.
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