Orissa’s heart of darkness chooses from crorepatis

The Kalahandi-Bolangir-Koraput (KBK) region is Orissa’s heart of darkness, infamous for its acute poverty which in the past led to starvation deaths and still forces people to migrate in search of work to the brick kilns of Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Home to 19.8% of the state’s 3.6 crore population, 78% of rural KBK live below the poverty line. But to elect representatives for the next Lok Sabha and state Assembly, this region has to choose from at least four crorepatis — three from the BJP, one from BJD and a Congress candidate who is just Rs 10 lakh short of a crore.

Take 35-year-old Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo, son of senior BJD minister AU Singh Deo and educated at the Doon School. Elected to the Orissa Assembly on a BJD ticket from Saintala in the 2004 elections, he is now the party candidate for the Bolangir Lok Sabha seat. He has movable and immovable assets worth Rs 2.63 crore which includes his share in Shailashree Palace in Bolangir.

According to the affidavit he filed before the Bolangir returning officer, Kalikesh Narayan has apartments in New Delhi’s Vasant Vihar,

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Stung by Naveen, BJP ropes in Modi to lead Orissa campaign

Its 11-year alliance with the BJD dead, a bitter BJP is calling in its heaviest hitter to mount an aggressive attack on “most dependable ally” turned “betrayer” Naveen Patnaik. Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi will spearhead the high voltage BJP campaign, which begins with a Vijay Sankalp rally in Bhubaneswar on March 16.

Modi will not be present at the opening rally, but will thereafter concentrate his energies on Orissa in an extensive, statewide campaign that will also feature the NDA’s prime ministerial candidate L K Advani, BJP chief Rajnath Singh and former Union minister Sushma Swaraj, said Orissa BJP president Suresh Pujari.

Nearly every senior BJP leader other than Modi will at tend the March 16 show, Pujari said. “We will tell the people of Orissa how trusting Naveen Patnaik is a dangerous step.”

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Centre ready with Article 355 rocket for Orissa, Karnataka

In a late-night move, the Centre was reported to be preparing the ground for a politically controversial move of invoking Article 355 against Orissa and Karnataka, the two NDA-ruled states which are witnessing large-scale targeted attacks on the Christian minority community over the last few weeks ostensibly in protest against conversions.

Article 355, one of the most rarely used provisions of the Constitution, enshrines on the Central Government a “duty to protect every state against external aggression and internal disturbance and to ensure that the government of every state is carried on in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution”.

Article 355 is one of the three controversial “emergency provisions” in the Constitution along with Article 352, which empowers the Centre to impose a national Emergency, and Article 356, which enables it to dismiss a state government.

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Rush to open IITs is a disaster: Prime Minister Science Advisor

In its hurry to boost higher education before elections, the Centre has pushed through six new IITs, setting up some in infrastructure challenged temporary campuses, and packing others into existing IIT complexes. It is a “disastrous” move, feels Prof C N R Rao, head of the Prime Minister’s Scientific Advisory Council.

“There was no proper discussion on this issue. Things could have been planned better. It took over 50 years to make IITs what they are today. After all it’s not like opening primary schools. These are institutes of excellence that have international standing. I am very upset that eight new IITs have been announced for implementation at one go. In July, I had written to the PM as well as the HRD Ministry and have made my views known to the PM when I met him later,” Rao said. He added that the move would bring down the brand value of the IITs.

Of the eight new IITs, six have started functioning in the current academic session in Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Orissa, Gujarat and Punjab. For the time being, IIT Rajasthan, Punjab and Orissa will operate from existing IIT campuses in Kanpur, Delhi and Mumbai. IIT Patna and IIT Gandhinagar will function out of temporary campuses.

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Orissa attack shows a major upgrade in Naxalite firepower

Seven of the 39 missing jawans of the Greyhounds, the elite anti-Naxalite force of Andhra Pradesh whose motorboat came under attack from Maoists while crossing a reservoir on the Orissa-Andhra border yesterday, were found safe early this morning in the adjoining forests. The body of Udaynath, a constable from Warangal, was found trapped beneath the capsized motorboat where Navy divers were searching the waters for the others still missing.

The ferocity of the attack in Orissa’s Malkangiri district has stunned teams engaged in anti-Naxal operations with officers pointing to a significant upgrade in the rebel firepower. From their positions atop a hillock surrounding the Balimela reservoir, Maoists opened up on the Greyhounds with grenade launchers, light machine guns and automatic weapons.

Orissa IGP Manmohan Praharaj, in-charge of anti-Naxal operations, said: “The Maoist strength is on the rise. The attacks are becoming more audacious, there is layer formation, more meticulous planning. They have more firepower.”

A senior police officer posted in southern Orissa said the Maoists used grenade launchers. “The rebels had looted grenade launchers and light machine guns during a raid on the Nayagarh armoury in February. It was obvious that they would use these weapons and not limit themselves to landmines. The manner in which the Maoists attacked proves their lethal power is intact,” the official said.

Officers said they were worried that Maoists had graduated from landmines to grenade launchers. Yet they conceded they had seen it coming. “We know for sure the Maoists have very sophisticated weapons. We knew about it at least three months ago. The firepower is almost equal. They have got what we have,” an officer said.

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