By Biswaraj Patnaik in Puri, June 1, 2017 : Shockingly, a couple of days, several IITians in Kerala slaughtered a calf in public and held a ‘beef party’ openly in protest against the ‘beef ban’ by the BJP government. The whole episode has shaken up the civilized India- not because the youngsters dared eat beef in full public glare, but that the BJP outfit is imposing rules which are against the spirit of the Constitution.

No government has the right to decide what people can eat. The human right to ‘liberty’ gets violated if such an administrative or executive order is passed by any government. Interestingly, there is just no mention of ‘beef ban’ in any of the popular Hindu scriptures. On the contrary there is ample evidence of Aryan communities feasting over beef at celebrations and home.

Even sages are known to have talked of ‘beef as tasty if tender’as mentioned in several theological research work. Cattle meaning cows, buffalos, steers, bulls, bullocks’ heifers and camels cannot be openly traded for meat. But cattle transport is an absolutely legal act if they are to be employed in milk production, soil–tilling and cart-pulling.

Only days ago, an innocent team of cattle traders were neaten up black and blue by some so called cow vigilante outfits at the Bhubaneswar rail station for transporting the animals with official permission. The militant vigilante goons have been booked by police only because Odisha is still a secular state. All the same, the beef ban protesters can be punished for animal slaughter in public which is illegal. The slaughter house arrangement since ages is only to keep bloodshed hidden from public view, particularly the children who could become violent in later life.

Surprisingly, not once has Modi declared the fundamentalist acts illegal and against the spirit of our Constitution. On Ram temple issue too he is trying to play safe by keeping quiet.

The people of India have admired Modi over his great moves like abolishing the ‘red beacon’ and the VIP culture; have trusted his demonetization step despite big suffering; but his silence over fundamentalist or extremist Hindu moves have upset the civilized world no end. Modi administration has not once condemned the state involvement in the ‘Ram Temple’ issue.

The saintly CM of Uttar Pradesh who became a sensation in the first week of his taking charge, is slowly sliding down the pole of popularity. He abolished the VIP culture; made surprise visits to locations of critical public service like hospitals and police stations, thereby building incredible public confidence and trust. But his ‘cow vigilante’ and ‘anti-Romeo’ outfits have gone overboard to commit acts not tenable in any court of law. These populist wings of Yogi do not understand law or acceptable conduct, the way majority of India’s front-line politicians fail to differentiate between the legislature and the executive.

Not surprisingly, the standard politician fails to make clear how laws are framed and rules made.Yogi rendered all senior bureaucrats offendingly powerless imagining politicians would grab all power to deliver quality service to people. This desired phenomenon shall never happen in any part of the world as the bureaucracy is the brain and truly functioning organ of the executive.

Administration essentially means ensuring field delivery of relief and goods by taking spot decisions in keeping with the law and abiding by rules laid out. The politicians have no time to study the rule book or the ethics guidelines. They are busy in becoming popular and more acceptable than before so as to ensure return to power successively.

Bureaucrats are bright brains who clear extremely tough tests to become critical public functionaries. They can catch up with latest developments with little effort because of their intelligence, practical wisdom and common sense. The politicians are bound to depend on them for understanding the basics of the Constitutional spirit and how rules can be adhered to even when out of turn acts are expected to be committed. Rarest of rare politicians have the brains or the willingness to learn the subtleties of state craft. The politicians only choose one or a few of the many options laid out before them by the smart bureaucrats.

Not surprisingly, bureaucrats have a great deal of control over the political leaders in the Executive that frames fitting rules to implement law–complying projects and schemes. Ministers, too crazy to make corrupt money, also consult their trusted bureaucrats for showing them escape routes in the event of landing in traps. Invariably ethically sound bureaucrats dissuade them from engaging in such practices, but when greed rules the mind, mad politicians go their way like an untrained entrepreneur takes a leap with uncalculated risks.

Politicians who keep shuttling between power corridors and nowhere across time, have a poorer sense of shame and slander than bureaucrats who know what works and what does not. In a complicated administrative system of the modern times, there are countless public domains to manage. Hence the guiding principles and the rule book ate kept ready by the bureaucrat for instant application. No matter how hoarse the political class scream and screech, the bureaucrats are here to stay for everybody’s good.

The only way to curtail their influence is by ensuring politicians study hard and learn matchingly, which is just a pipe dream as of now. Even Donald Trump is difficult to teach. The law courts keep hammering him for erring on the Constitutional front. The Indian politician is far behind on the knowledge gathering front. So blaming the bureaucrat blindly is only like pelting a pebble at a mountain and feeling great.

Recently, as if a Mr Know–all, Modi told the people of India that to feel or conceive ‘poverty’, one must visit Odisha. He spoke thus brazenly only to convince the masses that the BJD administration is a non-functioning one. But the magician chief minister whose aura and the halo around are unique is a blindly – followed and admired leader in Odisha. When the BJP wave was sweeping across India, the Naveen grabbed a cool 117 seats out if 147 in 2014 confounding all pollster and fortune tellers as their forecasts were wildly erroneous.

Modi, despite being a very noble-minded politician never did his home work right for Odisha when he said Odisha is terribly poor. The neighbouring states of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and even Madhya Pradesh are far below on several development parameters. Odisha incidentally, figures fairly high in the list of Software Technology Parks of India.

Chhattisgarh today is at an abysmally low IT export of 37 crore rupees per annum; Jharkhand at 49, MP at and Modi’s own Gujarat at 2358 crore trail far behind Odisha which enjoys an enviable 3400 crore rupees in the current year. When Naveen took over in 2000 AD, the much-hyped Janaki Ballav Patnaik’s industrial revolution had achieved only Rs 180 crore per year with incalculable inputs on all fronts.

Further, one must look up the UNDP-drafted Human Development Index book which gives very clear projections that are nearly impossible to dispute because of the fail safe methods of research used to collect primary and secondary data. Odisha in there stands much above the neighbouring states and is shown in brighter light than many others.

Odisha is better electrified than even West Bengal. The BJP has no local face in Odisha to battle for power. The veterans like Dilip Ray and Bijay Mahapatra are either in trouble or disillusioned with the ‘Lotus’ party. Miracles alone can bring BJP to Odisha to occupy power in 2019. The Lotus party may also grab power if the BJD loudmouths keep committing blunders on behaviour, and the ‘think tank’ produces garbage quality publicity content non stop.

In a latest shameful incident in Kendrapada, the local MP was offended with foul-language protest-slogans and eggs thrown at him. The act is flayed by public for being crude, vulgar and militant. It is true that Baijayant’s corporate promoters have been direct beneficiaries of Biju Patnaik’s regime way back in the sixties when they set up shop in Theruvaly. His family business has also benefitted from electricity tariff waivers. He became MP with BJD ticket. But believably, he feels he is too powerful with his media outfit that can sway people in his favour.

Unfortunately, the media houses owned by mainstream politicians have begun erring too dangerously because the bosses imagine people believe them more than politicians. This phenomenon has ceased to be so as the social media is already beginning to take over. The BJD media-owning leaders are now seen either as aggressively arrogant or timidly slavish. Both are unwelcome as they can jump fences without remorse, regret or compunction. Bhatruhari likes his self-inflicted wounds, Tathagat is contained well; but the money power-driven Baijayant seems to believe he can outsmart and fight to victory.

All said and done, the goons who offended the Kendrapada MP in full public glare have caused irreparable damage to the BJD image. Unless punished exemplarily, the people will see through the outfit and mark cracks that have remained invisible so far like in any other fold.