By D.N. Singh
Notwithstanding the criticisms that Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik tried to take a leaf out of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s book at educating the elected representatives in Parliament, the former has struck the right chord, albeit very late in the day.
His meeting with the elected party legislators on Wednesday stood out for two reasons mainly. One, the conduct in public and the other and yet, the important one, on austerity in public life that postulates simple living.
What was amazing that, none of the leaders coming out of the meeting chose not to highlight the austerity issue..
Because, apparently, simple life sermon seems a bit of an oxymoron for those politicians who remain wedded to luxury in their life, mostly, from day one they get elected.
The chief minister, in essence, wanted to tell the MLAs, most of whom were found driven in and out of the CM’s residence in luxury cars. Now the public scrutiny has reached a level, when such hideous ostentation of wealth, be it expensive cars, posh bungalows and garlanding themselves with thick gold ornaments, only can invite mocking disapproval of the people.
After the brief stints of blistering through the village or city roads during campaigns, those footprints get obliterated under the wheels of the SUVs they use. Whether it is a mindset or a self-acclaimed arrogance, this trend is all pervasive. And surely it is not Odisha specific.
As a chief minister one can’t expect him to keep hounding on each legislator’s way of life, so importantly, it was a moral appeal to remain grounded and be with the masses. In other words, it was a tip for them to prefer the better between greed and need.
But what is commonly seen that such advises from the top never sieves down into a politician’s psyche. And the result is like setting a needy on horses-back and the outcome is that he will ride to the ‘devil’ only. Politicians who from their early days dream to remain fed on milk and honey, may not care what the boss desires them to be.
