Being the chief minister doesn’t bring a man under a mandate that his present actions on development need to be measured by the inadequacies of the past.
So, the recent initiatives by the chief minister Naveen Patnaik towards modernisation and beautification of the heritage sites like Puri and Konark not necessarily force him for a political tightrope situation because it is done today.
That is what the opposition parties in the state are up to. When it was not being done, it had tirades fired at the man and now that he has started, trying a walk down the path of reform, the track is being made a blistering one by selective criticisms.
Puri came under the anvil after the disorder of the holy city came under the lens of the Supreme Court and that served as a catalyst for the government to step up the cleansing measures like demolition and so on.
Then the chief minister was targeted for the alleged lack of diligence which led to a piling up of issues like encroachment and other dereliction affecting the image of the Lord and the city as well. And the works got started once the court directives became binding.
Now, for a while, let politics take a leave in view of the enormity of the task in Puri.
Same is the case in Konark where some steps are viewed imperative for a facelift.
The millennium city Cuttack, often known as the cultural capital of Odisha has always remained a hostage to the geographic constraints and internal filth always attributed as an inseparable characteristic of the city.
If some of the aspects are being brought under the ambit of expansion and rubbing off the old sores, and the chief minister is taking a walk down the river paths, the opposition may reduce its trust for opposing a work even if late in the day.
Keeping aside, if there is any politics, but developmental works should not be allowed to reduce to a gaming hunt that appear caught in between hypocrisy and pragmatism.
State welfare cannot be a private rule and so, the opposition has many handles to enforce a check and balance on the entire exercise.
