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Patnaik nears the end of road

Arup Chanda in Bhubaneswar

Bad days are back again for Orissa Chief Minister Janaki Ballabh Patnaik. His meeting with Congress president Sonia Gandhi in Delhi seems to have earned him only a temporary reprieve.

Patnaik was at his wit's end to convince the lady that his administration had no hand in harassing Anjana Mishra, and rape could not be a parameter for law and order situation. He pleaded with Sonia to let him initiate action against Hemananda Biswal, the Orissa Pradesh Congress Committee chief, and Deputy Chief Minister Basanta Biswal. But the lady did not relent.

Congressmen in Orissa, including Patnaik's supporters, admit that he was not in the "good books of Soniaji" because of very many issues. His image is far from clean and his refusal to remove state Advocate General Indrajit Ray, who allegedly molested Anjana, further deteriorated it. The Orissa high court order for a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the incident came as a slap on the face of the Congress government, and Ray had to be deposed.

The Opposition made it into an issue and Patnaik had no explanation as to why he stood by his friend at the cost of the party's image. Before the court order, he even went to the extent of labelling the allegation against Ray as "part of a conspiracy by his detractors to destabilise his government".

Patnaik behaved in the same manner when the entire Orissa was rocked with the news of Mishra's gang-rape by three anti-socials, two of whom have been confirmed to be Congress workers. Patnaik again described it as a conspiracy against him. But when medical examination confirmed rape he tried to scuttle the issue by questioning the reason for Mishra's presence so late at night on that lonely road.

This reportedly turned Sonia Gandhi livid as the chief minister in order to protect his seat was not only questioning the integrity of a rape victim, and thereby justifying rape, but was also admitting that after dark, women in Orissa were not safe. Patnaik himself admitted that he had to clarify certain points to her.

In fact, much before this incident Patnaik was on his way out. With the Congress winning the election in some states last year, Sonia Gandhi was trying her best to refurbish the image of the party. With assembly election due in Orissa in 2000 AD, the party had decided to project a "clean person" as the next chief minister. The obvious choice would have been Basanta Biswal but his failing health went against him The name decided was Giridhar Gomango, a former minister and a tribal leader with an impeccable record.

During the last assembly election in 1995, the Congress did not project Patnaik as its chief ministerial candidate. In fact, the party avoided questions on this issue. Unofficially, Gomango's name was circulated as the party's "next chief minister" during the poll campaign, which earned the Congress substantial tribal votes and brought it to power.

But a shrewd manipulator, Patnaik with the help of some senior leaders in the All India Congress Committee managed to stage a comeback.

Following Mishra's gang-rape, anyone connected with politics in Orissa was more or less sure of Patnaik's ouster from office. The AICC had deputed Madhavrao Scindia to be the hatchet-man and he was scheduled to reach Bhubaneswar and oversee the change in leadership.

However, subsequent actions by the Opposition and Patnaik's rivals within the Congress came as a blessing in disguise for him.

The day after the news of the gang-rape spread like wildfire throughout the sate, Basanta Biswal rushed to New Delhi demanding Patnaik's removal. He behaved in a manner as if he was waiting for the rape to take place. He made the mistake of publicly criticising Patnaik's administration, of which he is also a member, for the deteriorating law and order. Hemananda Biswal, who also flew to New Delhi for an audience at 10, Janpath, joined him in this.

The Opposition, which was not united in Orissa, joined hands on this issue and called a bandh. Their sole aim was to remove Patnaik.

Patnaik was on a weak wicket. Sonia certainly did not want the Congress to be viewed as a party that encouraged leaders who support violation of women's rights, particularly with election in the state round the corner.

But the Orissa crisis became a Catch-22 situation for her. Not only was Patnaik an influential leader within the Congress whose alienation might cost the party dearly, his removal would mean that Sonia had conceded to the Opposition's demand.

In fact, all Opposition leaders in Orissa now admit so in private and repent their actions. Their crusade against Patnaik as an individual has turned him into a hero before the Congress high command.

Moreover, Patnaik's friends in the Congress leadership in New Delhi convinced Sonia to let him go because there was no Congress leader in Orissa who can take on the Bharatiya Janata Party-Biju Janata Dal combine, which had routed the Congress in the last Lok Sabha poll last year.

Back in Bhubaneswar, Patnaik continues to be the chief minister but he is not comfortable. While the Biswal duo was pulled up by the party high command for openly criticising the chief minister, Patnaik was not given a free hand to curb them. As such, he had to swallow the insult and ruled out any disciplinary action against the dissidents.

The Congress dissidents on the other hand are confident of Patnaik's removal before the next election. They feel that once the furore created by the Opposition over the rape case dies down, the 75-year-old CM will be given an honourable exit by the high command on the pretext of old age and health problems.

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