The plight of lakhs of people devastated by the killer cyclone just a month ago has taken a back seat as the politicians are now engaged in an unseemly tug-of-war for the CM's kursi. Yes, these were the very politicians who shed copious crocodile tears for the unfortunate cyclone victims and clamoured from roof-tops that it should be declared a national calamity. For the last few days, aspiring Congressmen and their followers have been camping in Bhubaneswar and Delhi playing out backdoor games for clinging to power or grabbing power, as the case maybe, even as Erasama, Jagatsinghpur, Paradip and Kendrapara are left high and dry. The key players are Chief Minister Giridhar Gamang, now seen to be not as vulnerable, simple and innocent as he seemed to be earlier, his predecessor J B Patnaik, wily as ever and seeking sweet revenge for his ouster, and of course, the ailing and obscenely ambitious Basant Biswal, deputy CM in Patnaik's time and senior minister in Gamang's cabinet. In fact it is Biswal who, swinging like a pendulum, derailed Patnaik's ambitious surge. First he sided with the latter and demanded Gamang's removal. But when the time came, Gamang managed to win over Biswal, obviously with allurements. With the obvious deal between the two, Gamang's reputation as an honest man has been torn asunder. Surely, running to Biswal's house any number of times on December 1, before giving the slip to AICC observers Madhavrao Scindia and Vayalar Ravi to airdash to Delhi, does little to bolster one's reputation for playing with a straight bat. "It is the high command which gave me the CM's post and only it can ask me to quit," bleated Gamang, perhaps the first CM in the history of independent India to admit that he never had majority support in the legislature party, which anyway did not matter. Ignoramuses are free to believe that a chief minister commands majority support, but we have just been enlightened by Gamang that a CM is just a high command flunkey. Amid conflicting reports of Gamang being asked to step down and a three-member observer team coming to Orissa to assess the situation and perhaps go for a headcount of MLAs, horse-trading is on in full swing. A former contractor is bidding for anywhere between Rs 15 and 25 lakh for MLAs to jump to his side and swell his support base from a mere 30 to an unassailable 50+. The huge relief money running into thousands of crores is at stake, and in the face of such allurements, how the legislators shape up remains to be seen. But whoever comes to occupy the CM's gaddi -- Patnaik, Biswal , Gamang or Patnaik's major domo -- it is Orissa which has suffered, this time at the hands of its own sons. What could be a worse disaster than politicians, who are in fact a national calamity! Bibhuti Mishra's heart beats for Orissa
HOME | NEWS | ELECTION 99 | BUSINESS | SPORTS | MOVIES | CHAT | INFOTECH | TRAVEL SINGLES | BOOK SHOP | MUSIC SHOP | HOTEL RESERVATIONS | MONEY EDUCATION | PERSONAL HOMEPAGES | FREE EMAIL | FEEDBACK