A close encounter with Naveen Patnaik’s unlimited political wisdom
A reluctant politician, he has transformed dynasty into participative
democracy while mauling the Opposition both within and outside. Odisha Chief
Minister Naveen Patnaik is a well-groomed aristocrat who guards his privacy
well; interviews are a rarity, and he hardly ever meets his party colleagues.
He’s a man of letters and a luxurious lifestyle, but abhors the company of his
own kind in India Inc. Patnaik is a loner, spending his days in office and
evenings in his sprawling residence near Bhubaneswar airport, peacefully working
and resting through the regular roar of jet engines.
Patnaik came to the first-ever Odisha LitFest and had to be almost pushed
into an impromptu question-and-answer session of a kind he hadn’t bargained for.
Author of three books, he answered questions on his life, politics, economics
and Odisha with an enigmatic smile. Even the UPA’s sharpest mindreaders find it
difficult to outguess Patnaik, a man who doesn’t reveal ambition. Some excerpts
from a conversation with Patnaik at the two-day Odisha LitFest organised in
Bhubaneswar by The New Indian Express:
Are you now ideologically closer to the Congress or to anti-Congress
forces?
Let me clarify: our party is equidistant from the BJP and Congress.
Which way will you and Jayalalithaa go ? Are you with reforms meant to divert
attention, as you say, from the real crisis, or do you think there are reforms
that can be supported later?
I can speak for myself and our party. Our concerns are not only for our state
but also for the country. The whole aim of our government is pro-people and
anti-poverty schemes. And indeed we have made great strides in empowerment to
women, both socially and economically.
If the bills are brought to Parliament, will your party support the one on
insurance and the others that require parliamentary approval?
I think all this needs a great deal of examination before one can give an
appropriate reply.
Do you support Mamata when she says that the Congress should take a vote of
confidence on these measures?
I can’t give you a bold reply on that. This kind of decision lies with having
taken the opinions of others within the party.
Like Narendra Modi, Patnaik takes pride in looking after his Odias. He is
perhaps one of the few chief ministers who has hardly visited either Mumbai or
New York in search of invisible investment. He doesn’t even host international
investors. The Poscos, Vedantas and Lakshmi Mittals come to the Land of Kalingas
to mine gold on their own terms. He gave them local support but did not lobby
for them at the Centre. Almost all his big projects have been sabotaged or
embroiled in controversy in the power play of New Delhi, yet Patnaik has won
three Assembly elections on the trot.
If you had to headline a book on the current India story, what would it
be?
The title of any work which I have not done certainly needs a lot of
consideration. I think this causes pain to a great deal of writers.
This means your story of India has no title...
I think it will be very difficult for anyone to write the story of India.
Like Modi says he is concentrating on Gujarat, you seem to be concentrating
on Odisha. Is that the reason you are not talking of India?
Our first aspiration, being a regional party and party of the state, is
Odisha.
Modi, Mamata, Jayalalithaa: all are being spoken of as potential prime
ministers. Why not you?
I can speak only for myself. I harbour no such ambition. I am happier to be
able to serve Odisha, whether in office or out of it.
I knew your father when he was making and unmaking prime ministers. He was a
kingmaker. Do you want to remain the king of Odisha?
I do not think you have kings in democracy. I would be more than happy to be
elected to office.
Naveen represents Patnaik Dynasty but he has no visible successor. He doesn’t
allow his brother or others to be seen in the corridors of power. Close aides
are talking about his nephew Arun as the one to take over in the long run.
Unlike his father Biju Patnaik, Naveen does believe in any legacy or mission.
His vision is to win elections and he has mastered that art without even
speaking to his voters in their own language.
It is very difficult to get anything out of Naveen Patnaik. His cards are
very close to his chest, and he will play them at the appropriate time. Do you
have a message for the literati?
I must compliment The New Indian Express group for organising this event that
has brought together so many of the literary people in the state. We in the
government are open to suggestions and improvements in the field of culture and
literature and of course to highlight that in the state and outside as much as
possible.
prabhuchawla@newindianexpress.com; Follow me on Twitter @PrabhuChawla
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