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Orissa minister rues
Patnaik's Oriya handicap

Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik was once again taken to task for his lack of proficiency in Oriya. However, this time the critic was not some opposition leader but close cabinet colleague Minister for Information and Public Relations Duryodhan Majhi, who made it clear that some close aides of Patnaik were taking advantage of his handicap.

"A coterie comprising some influential leaders and bureaucrats are taking advantage of Patnaik's ignorance of the Oriya language and thereby influencing his activities," Majhi said at a public function organised to mark National Press Day.

"Some so-called trusted people were influencing Patnaik to suit their own interests," he said.

This is for the first time that a cabinet colleague of Patnaik's has raised the issue in public.

Due to Patnaik's poor knowledge of Oriya, he is not well-informed about the grievances of the common people nor correctly apprised about important matters of state by his close aides, Majhi said.

Majhi, considered the spokesperson of the state government, said he was raising the issue because the government had to endure constant digs on this account.

The issue has been haunting Naveen Patnaik ever since he entered public life with opposition leaders leaving no opportunity to remind him about his handicap and criticising him for the same.

With no signs of a change in Patnaik's attitude, a few month back Biju Janata Dal legislators also labelled the English-savvy Patnaik a 'non-Oriya' chief minister. He was also accused of being biased towards non-Oriya bureaucrats in the state administration.

The legislators criticised Patnaik for his inability to learn Oriya, maintaining a non-Oriya lifestyle and his keenness to promote non-Oriya bureaucrats.

The most vocal among them was former minister and Ersama legislator Damodar Rout.

Rout said, ''The state is being ruled by non-Oriya people, beginning from the chief minister to the advocate general and director general of police.''

A senior BJD leader admitted that Patnaik had not made much headway with Oriya ever since he entered politics over three years back. Even after becoming chief minister in March this year, Patnaik's grasp of Oriya has shown no signs of improvement, which will hamper the party's prospects, the leader said. After all, a leader must be able to identify with the common man and his problems, he pointed out.

Despite Oriya being the official language of the state, all official communication is being carried out in English ever since Patnaik took over. "Patnaik used to send all important and confidential notes in English," sources said.

Interestingly, not wanting to lose out on an opportunity, some ministers are trying hard to learn English and Hindi to impress Patnaik.

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