BJD’s welcome ceremony for CM: An avoidable seize of Bhubaneswar city

Political strategists wanted to convert the 'lifetime achievement' felicitation into a political event of gargantuan proportion. For them, the human misery and suffering such uncontrolled city seize leads to was of little concern.

BJD celebration for CM Naveen's award and the traffic congestion it led to.

The political advisors who planned a Hero’s welcome for the Chief Minister of the state from not distant national capital looked highly naive in opting for such a programme. Award for Naveen Patnaik is not a new event. People all over the globe have been eager to honour this leader for his unique style of governance and for the wonderful transformation his ability has brought about to the land of 45 million people he has been ruling over for over two decades. He has taken pains to keep the economic progress humble. People are immensely happy with freebies. Their expectations have been trimmed. They have been made to learn to celebrate non-events. 

The education sector remains lacklustre; thousands of children are missing, rate of conviction in women atrocity-related cases continues to be dismal. Some foreign media, however, routinely praise Government’s performance on disaster management. What the publicity craze does not take into account is that many people abroad would like to portray the plight of poverty stricken people fleeing homes for shelter at the approach of a cyclone. Why thousands of people would not have a safe house of their own till now, is never an issue. Many civil society organizations, however, continue to bestow honour on the Chief Minister for his qualities of head and heart.