Naveen overrides constitutional norm to deny medal to DIG

D N Singh

Governance is always intricately linked to Politics. Right? But no politician should think that people are ignorant of what is right or wrong. The manner in which a senior police officer was slighted on the day of 15th Aug in Bhubaneswar was amazing. It was not fair governance on display. Nobody would believe that a `suave` politician like Naveen Patnaik would chose to go against a constitutional norm in such an abrasive manner. A senior police officer of the rank of DIG was invited by the state government to receive a medal conferred on him by the President and was later deprived of it for reasons unknown. However, sources present on the dais said that the Chief Minister declined to do the job of handing over the medal. And nobody knows, except Patnaik, as to what was that compelling scruple behind such a show of disrespect towards the officer. The officer in question is Binaytosh Mishra, an Orissa cadre IPS, now posted in Bokharo with the CISF. Mishra had received the invitation from the state government to get his presidential award from the Chief Minister during the Independence Day celebration parade. It was, perhaps, not even in his wildest imagination that he would be deprived of the honour in such a way. For Mishra, who had travelled all the way from Bokharo with family, it was nothing less than walking into a honey trap and get stung. Photo ups, before the awards were given away, had captured the glee of victory on Mishra’s face that paled soon. His name was not announced nor any reason assigned thereof behind the `deliberate` omission. “There was no disrespect meant for Mr Mishra” soon came the explanation from Naveen`s people. Since Mishra now belongs to the CISF so the Orissa government thought that it would be better if the medal was given by the CISF. This sounds like a desperate after-thought to inject wisdom into the act that left even many IAS & IPS officers present there perplexed. However, the grapevines had it that, Naveen Patnaik`s scruple had its roots in Kalinganagar industrial area where the soil had become red with the killings of 13 tribals by police bullets in 2006. The incident had happened when Mishra was the Superintendent of Police in that district. So Patnaik thought that if he honours the officer that would hurt the sentiments of the tribals of Kalinganagar! It was a manifestation of his fear of Kalinganagar which he has never visited in the last four years. If Mishra was in the wrong for being the SP of the disturbed district, why then was his name nominated for the President award? If Mishra was guilty, what prompted the Naveen government to subsequently reward him with a promotion in the Crime Branch? There are many such questions for the Chief Minister. It was the President`s medal, and the Chief Minister had an overriding obligation to handover the same to the awardee. The Chief Minister`s advisers, those who are tailoring such decisions, must wear the caps of wisdom to realise that such acts sap police morale and can throw in a dose of distrust.