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Naveen Patnaik repackages scheme to champion ‘Jagannath culture’ ahead of polls
The scheme is seen as part of the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD)’s attempts to counter the BJP’s Hindutva agenda ahead of 2024 assembly and national polls
The Odisha Cabinet this week approved ₹4,000 crore “Ama Odisha, Nabin Odisha (Our Odisha, New Odisha)” scheme for rural development and to spread “Lord Jagannath culture” even as the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress dismissed it as a pre-poll gimmick.
The scheme is a repackaged version of the “Ama Gaon, Ama Bikash (Our village, Our development)” and is seen as part of the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD)’s attempts to counter the BJP’s Hindutva agenda ahead of 2024 assembly and national polls.
The BJD government has since 2019 undertaken redevelopment of scores of temples in the state including the iconic Jagannath Temple in Puri. It plans to spend over ₹4,224.22 crore on transforming Puri’s infrastructure.
Chief minister Naveen Patnaik said every panchayat has places of importance rooted in spirituality and history. “It is important for our future generations that they be preserved and protected. And who better to do this important work than our Panchayati Raj institutions through the new scheme.”
Political observer Satya Prakash Dash said the government may have thought of a smart way to appropriate the Jagannath culture through the new scheme ahead of polls.
“By championing the cause of Jagannath culture, a syncretic one, he [Patnaik] is trying to nip in the bud BJP’s plans of hard Hindutva like it is doing in Uttar Pradesh through Ram Temple construction. In the last five years, he [Patnaik] has taken up the development of all major temples in all 30 districts.”
Dash said the BJD is leaving little room for BJP electorally by talking about protecting Jagannath culture. He added small temples in each village may be renovated under the new scheme.
Dash said Patnaik has reasons to be worried over the rise of the BJP, which was BJD’s coalition partner between 1998 and 2009.
In 2017, the BJP won nine of the 30 zilla parishads. It won eight of the 21 Lok Sabha seats and 23 of 147 assembly seats in 2019.
Wary of BJP’s game plan, Patnaik has never lost an opportunity to talk about Jagannath culture over the last five years. He has called Lord Jagannath the greatest identity of the Odia community. “Our history, culture, tradition, and belief system are all centered on the Almighty. Visiting the Jagannath Temple once in a lifetime and getting a glimpse of the Lord is the only prayer of millions of devotees. All devotees, who come to the Jagannath Temple in Puri to see the Lord, have a desire in their hearts to see deities in a calm, beautiful, and spiritual environment,” Patnaik said while tabling a resolution in the assembly for early completion of the Jagannath Temple Corridor in 2021.
BJP leader Samir Mohanty said the government should have said how many of the projects are still pending under the old scheme while announcing the “Ama Odisha, Nabin Odisha”. “As per our information, of the 3,24,523 projects sanctioned under the ‘Ama Gaon Ama Bikash’ scheme, 2,94,623 projects are yet to be completed,” he said.
State Congress chief Sarat Patnaik said every time the election approaches, BJD announces schemes. “The announcement of the [new] scheme is to protect the livelihood of BJD workers...only the party workers or selected contractors will get the funds through these schemes. As many as 1,000 cold storage can be opened using ₹4000 crore which has been sanctioned for the scheme.”
He asked the government why was not it opening the Ratna Bhandar of Puri Srimandir. “A judicial probe was ordered into the issue of the keys of the Ratna Bhandar going missing. The commission submitted its report over four and half years ago. Why is the government not making the report public? Why cannot the government simply open the Ratna Bhandar and do an audit of the jewellery of three deities.”
In a statement, the government said measures to augment rural infrastructure to accelerate growth as well as to promote, preserve, and protect the Jagannath culture and tradition are the main aims of the new scheme. “Odisha is the land that gave Jagannath culture to the world. A culture that is based on universal love, service, and equality,” the statement said.
The earlier scheme was announced in March 2018 for the allocation of ₹50 lakh to each panchayat for the creation of additional facilities for Mission Shakti (self-help) Groups, development of sports, banking facilities, improvement of digital access, WiFi and internet connectivity, etc.
As in the 2018 scheme, local people, community organisations, public representatives, and other stakeholders can suggest projects under the new one.
