Reclusive CM fights new enemy with old weapon

BHUBANESWAR: There is no denying the fact that allegations of corruption - be it mining scam or the chit fund scam - has been a constant companion of the Naveen Patnaik government. Like in the past, in his fourth term too, the recluse chief minister has fought this enemy with an old and trusted weapon in his repertoire: silence.
If one compares Naveen's and West Bengal chief minister Mamata's last year in office, one finds strange similarities.The two powerful regional satraps are facing the biggest crisis of their political careers at the same time with serious questions being raised about their integrity. While it is the Saradha swindle in Bengal, the list is endless in Odisha - Seashore, Artha Tatwa, to name a few. The scams have hit the two where it hurts most - their acceptance among the aam aadmi as honest politicians.
While Mamata has suffered major blows with the arrests of Bengal sports and transport minister Madan Mitra, two of her party's Rajya Sabha members - Kunal Ghosh and Srinjoy Bose and former IPS officer and party vice-president Rajat Majumdar, the scenario is no less alarming for Naveen. The CBI investigation reached right up to the hallowed Naveen Niwas in Bhubaneswar, as the sleuths interrogated his man Friday, Saroj Kumar Sahoo, and claimed to have found dodgy transactions from his bank account. Besides, BJD MP Ramachandra Hansdah, party MLA Prabhat Tripathy and ex-MLA Subarna Naik have been arrested. CBI also interrogated the party's Balasore MP Rabindra Jena, BJD MLA Pravat Biswal and arrested former advocate general Ashok Mohanty.
In the face of the storm, Naveen has maintained his trademark reticence all through, unlike Mamata. Until recently, Mamata was at her vitriolic best against the BJP ever since fingers were raised at her party. Naveen, on the other hand has made very few public appearances since the chit fund scam came in public domain. "Let law take its own course" is the only response newsmen have been able to eke out from him.
BJD's parliamentary party leader Bhartruhari Mahtab feels there is no reason for Naveen to lose his cool. "Our government believes in maintaining transparency. It is the party's policy decision to suspend whoever is found involved in corruption. There is no reason for the chief minister to get paranoid if a few individuals are found involved in illegalities," he told TOI.
In politics, there is no last word. Naveen, it seems, has kept this in mind. That is why he has remained aloof and let silence do the talking on his behalf. It has paid off. BJD won a thumping victory in the civic elections earlier this year. The only possible cost of this is growing speculation about a realignment between his party and the BJP in national politics.
"What I see in Parliament tells me that there is a tacit understanding between BJP and BJD. After all, they are old allies," says a senior MP who did not want to be named.
He is perhaps true. The CBI office in Bhubaneswar which was buzzing with activities till only a months ago is deserted now. The central sleuths were going ahead with its probe at breakneck speed. Almost every day, someone or other from the ruling party was getting summons.
Now suddenly, there is a lull at a time when BJP-led NDA is trying to get crucial bills passed in Parliament with an awful minority in the Rajya Sabha, where, even if BJD abstains from voting, it will go to BJP's favour. Almost every politically conscious person in Odisha has done the simple math of 2+2=4.
For now, Naveen does not care about such speculation as long as he has way in Odisha, and more importantly, with the BJP leadership.