Odisha | 6 months of Mohan Majhi government: Here are hits and misses
While it has delivered some of its key promises including Subhadra Scheme and reopening of Jagannath Temple treasury, it has had its fair share of troubles, too
Mid-year, the BJP, in a landslide victory, ended the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government’s two-decade-long rule in Odisha, riding high on its ‘Odia Asmita’ plank and poll promises that would right all the “wrongs” that the Naveen Patnaik government had allegedly inflicted upon the people of the state.
How has the Mohan Charan Majhi government performed over the past six months? Did it keep its poll promise on the Puri Jagannath temple? What about schemes for women and farmers?
Here's a report card.
Reopening of Jagannath Temple doors
In a gesture that indicated that his government takes its poll promises seriously, a day after being sworn in as chief minister, Majhi, on June 13, personally supervised the reopening of the three closed doors of Puri’s Jagannath Temple – a major poll promise – to ensure easy movement of crowd.
Watch: Why opening the Puri Jagannath temple gates was important for new BJP government
Earlier, while pilgrims earlier had access to the temple via all its four doors, three of the doors were shut down and barricades erected outside the fourth entrance, Singhadwara. This was implemented during the COVID pandemic, allegedly on the orders of VK Pandian, the aide of then Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
While the barricades and entry through a single door had created severe congestion at the temple, disgruntled devotees, many of whom couldn’t see the deities despite traveling from far-off places, had criticised the government for putting such draconian restrictions in place at the popular pilgrimage spot.
Tapping into anti-Pandian sentiments, the BJP had promised that it would open all the doors of the temple within 24 hours of coming to power.
While keeping its promise, the Majhi government also announced an allocation of Rs 500 crore for the promotion of 'Jagannath culture'.
Also read: 'Tamil babu' Pandian's unpopularity sinks Naveen Patnaik's popularity in Odisha
On June 12, the government allocated another Rs 200 for the preservation of ‘Odia Asmita’, an initiative that will support Odia, art, culture and literature.
Unlocking Ratna Bhandar of Jagannath Temple
The BJP, which had raked up a political storm over the missing keys of the Ratna Bhandar of the 12th century temple, fulfilled its promise of reopening it after coming to power.
On July 14, after 46 years, 11-member government-appointed team entered the temple treasury to carry out its inventory and restoration. The team had to break open the lock of the inner chamber keys of which were missing.
The visit also dispelled various folklores about the presence of tunnels in the treasury and serpents guarding valuables. The inventory of valuables, however, is on hold as it will done after the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) completes the restoration work of the treasury.
Debate over Subhadra Yojana
The BJP’s promise of Rs 50,000 to over 1 crore women in the age group of 21-60 years proved a game-changer in the polls, acting as a magnet to divert Naveen Patnaik’s 70-lakh strong women vote bank.
The direct cash transfer scheme, launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his birthday on September 17 in Odisha, was crafted as a counter to Patnaik’s warhorse scheme Mission Shakti that sought to empower women through Self Help Groups (SHGs).
The BJP government later announced that the cash amount will be transferred to Jan Dhan accounts of beneficiaries over five years.
The government claims to have already deposited the first instalment to over 80 lakh women while Majhi has promised the inclusion of the rest 20 lakh women in the scheme by the end of January 2025. The government on Monday announced that while the first instalment will be transferred to pending beneficiaries by January 2025, two more instalments will be credited to accounts in the year. The state government allocated Rs 10,000 towards the scheme in the Budget.
Also read: No snakes, tunnels inside Ratna Bhandar: Puri temple treasury reopening debunks myths
The Opposition, however, has accused the government of not delivering on its initial promise of crediting the bulk amount of Rs 50,000 to the account of beneficiaries and rather splitting it into two yearly instalments. It has also asked the government why it has excluded women under 21 years and above 60 years from the ambit of the scheme.
‘Lakhpati Didis’
With the BJP promising the creation of 25 lakh ‘Lakhpati Didis’ by 2027, along with industrial clusters for every 500 Self-Help Groups, the Majhi government says it has already taken measures on that front.
The Central scheme, which is part of the Deendayal Antodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), aims to empower rural women by providing them sustainable income opportunities through SHGs. Under the scheme, a Lakhpati Didi is a SHG member who has an annual household income of over Rs 1 lakh.
While the Majhi government, in its first budget, allocated Rs 1,162 crore towards the scheme, the Chief Minister, in a recent press conference, said that ministers have already been sent to districts to conduct surveys for the same. The ministers will tour every district within a window of 101 days and stay in the concerned district for 42 days, he added.
Union Minister of State for Rural Development, Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani recently informed the Lok Sabha that 5,37,350 women in Odisha have benefitted from the scheme so far.
Also read: Explained: What's Odisha govt’s ‘Subhadra Yojana’ and how it will empower women
Hike in paddy MSP
Within 100 days of coming to power, the BJP government fulfilled another of its major key promises – to hike the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of paddy to Rs 3,100 quintal.
While the measure was announced in June, the government earlier this month decided to transfer the additional Rs 800 to bank accounts of farmers along with Rs 2,300 per quintal price of paddy from December 8 onwards.
Majhi said the state government has allocated Rs 5,000 crore in the budget to buy paddy at Rs 3,100 per quintal for farmers.
The government has also launched a dedicated portal to ensure that eligible farmers benefit from the scheme. The government is also reportedly taking initiatives to educate farmers about measures taken for paddy procurement through awareness campaigns, and programmes.
Measures to curb corruption, boost trade
Having promised to deal with corruption with an iron fist, the new government within 100 days of its swearing in has filed 71 corruption cases while ensuring the arrest of 58 government officials including 17 Class I and seven Class II officers in graft cases.
The government also claims to have taken major efforts to establish FDI Parks and 11 MSME Parks to boost economic growth and create jobs for youth in the state. The Majhi government has also secured a capital investment of Rs 45,000 crore to create 23,000 jobs.
Viksit Odisha vision
With the BJP promising to provide legal, medical and engineering courses in Odia language, the government in July formed a 22-member to outline a plan including essential course books, timeline and budget for the same. The committee was asked to submit its proposal to the health and family welfare department on the matter within 15 days.
The Majhi government has also announced the development of a comprehensive vision document to formulate strategies to achieve the mission of ‘Viksit Odisha’ by 2036. He has solicited public opinions through a dedicated website for ideas to transform Odisha. The vision aims at sustainable and inclusive development with special stress on agriculture and inclusive development.
The first budget session of the Majhi government also saw him retain and rebrand some of the popular schemes launched by the Patnaik government, indicating the BJP’s commitment to continue with older schemes.
Miles to go
Despite achieving key promises, the Majhi government is lagging behind several others, including the implementation of the Ayushman Bharat scheme – which the BJP had promised to implement within 100 days of coming to power.
Odisha Health Minister Mukesh Mahaling recently said that the scheme, which aims to cover residents with an income less than Rs 8 lakh per annum, will be implemented by February 2025.
The new government, despite achieving significant milestones, has faced its fair share of controversies too.
Major controversies
The government was in a spot when an official of the Raj Bhavan in Puri accused Lalit Kumar, the son of former Odisha Governor Raghubar Das, and five of his accomplices of physically assaulting him on Raj Bhavan premises on July 7.
While no action was taken against Lalit, the complainant, who was posted as the Assistant Section Officer, Household Section at the Governor’s Secretariat, was transferred to the Home Department days after the incident, sparking widespread public outcry.
Also read: West Bengal’s potato ban leaves Jharkhand and Odisha in soup
Raising the issue in the Assembly, Leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik alleged that no action was taken against the accused because one of them was the Governor’s son. The Majhi government said the Puri Collector was probing the incident and would submit a report on the matter in a month’s time.
Rath Yatra incident
The government faced massive backlash after nine servitors were injured after the heavy, wooden idol of Lord Balabhadra fell on them while being taken in a procession to the chariot during Rath Yatra festival on July 9. Comments by Law minister Prithviraj Harichandan and Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida, that the incident was a part of “divine play” and “Leelamayas Leela (act of God)” added more fuel to the controversy.
Asserting that the government cannot get away by calling the accident as god’s act, the Congress demanded accountability from those responsible for the incident.
Also read: Parliament scuffle: Who are MPs Pratap Sarangi, Mukesh Rajput, Phangnon Konyak?
The death of five people in a Hooch tragedy in Ganjam’s Chikiti district also triggered a raging slugfest between the government and the Opposition BJD. Raising the issue in the Assembly, Opposition chief whip Pramila Malik commented that the incident shows how serious the Majhi government was in fulfilling its promise of a liquor-free Odisha. Even though the BJP government, after being pressured by the Opposition BJD, has initiated a Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC) probe into the incident, the latter has accused it of not providing compensation to the families of the deceased.
Poverty and food security
The death of two women after consuming mango kernel gruel in Kandhamal district’s Mandipanka village in November raised the grave question of food security in the poverty-stricken districts of the state.
Staging a walkout in Assembly, the BJD and Congress alleged that the tribal women were forced to consume mango kernels as the government failed to distribute rice to beneficiaries for four months.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on August 31, left academics and a majority of Ravenshawvians fuming when he proposed to rename the 156-year-old Ravenshaw University in Cuttack.
Faux pas
Not just controversies, faux pas by BJP leaders and Majhi himself have drawn much flak.
Watch: Who is new Odisha CM Mohan Majhi? 4-time MLA who drew attention for 'throwing dal' at Speaker
The Chief Minister’s mannerisms, enunciation and dressing style have often been compared to that of his predecessor Naveen Patnaik. A video showing an unwitting Majhi pronounce ‘Apple’ (phone) as ‘Aapul’ has gone viral on social media, sparking hilarious — and unkind rebuttals — and memes.
In November, his government was left red-faced when BJP’s Cuttack Sadar MLA Prakash Sethi became meme material for his English speech at the inaugural ceremony of Cuttack’s Bali Jatra.
While Sethi’s lack of command over the language was palpable, netizens criticised his choice of an extempore speech in English and decision to ditch Odia despite his government’s thrust on ‘Odia Asmita’.
