By Our Correspondent
BHUBANESWAR: The Ouster of Balasore MP Pratap Sarangi from the Union Cabinet and relegation of Dharmendra Pradhan from PNG-Steel Ministry to Education and Skill Development Ministry, less important portfolio, and elevation of a first timer in Upper House, with Cabinet Rank having Railways Portfolios speaks a lot of unholy state of affairs within the BJP in Odisha, having 8 Lok Sabha and lone Rajya Sabha seats of newly inducted Ashwini Vaishnaw, who once had hit headlines for his business dealings with B Prabhakaran of Thriveni Earth Movers Pvt Ltd, one of the masterminds of Odisha Mining scam and Sajjan Jindal, who largely benefited in last Mining auction while bagging as many as 4 major Iron Ore blocks under Joda-Koira circles of Keonjhar and Sundargarh due to well-planned nexus in between Union Mines, Coal and Steel Ministries as well as some known Mines Owners and Steel makers in the name of reforms.
Odisha is now paying heavy price for high premium mining auction with few mines owners surrendered their blocks while few yet not start operations. The story behind Vaishnaw’s elevation in Union Cabinet clearly speaks that the Central leadership neglected talents like Pratap Sarangi, Bhubaneswar MP Aparjita Sarangi, National VP Baijayant ‘Jay’ Panda, Sundargarh MP Jual Oram and Bargarh MP, Suresh Pujari, all were known critics of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in the State.
The new Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s body language while handing over charge to Hardeep Singh Puri at Sashtri Bhawan, the PNG Ministry Headquarters’ in New Delhi, were loud and clear that he became victim of his own fault of divide and rule policy within the Odisha BJP.
Baijayant Panda, Pratap Sarangi , Aparajita Sarangi, Suresh Pujari and Jual Oram were left behind with mining and corporate lobby continued to call their shorts in Mines and Steel Ministries and successfully manipulated BJP’s state of affairs, which largely intended to benefit Naveen Patnaik and his BJD. The elections results in Assam speaks the real hard work of Baijayant Panda while MPs like Aparajita Sarangi, Suresh Pujari and Jual Oram too working hard in their Constituencies. The argument that new Railways Minister’s work at PMO during late AB Vajpayee and later were major criteria behind his nomination but truth speaks something other.
The fact is that it was late Ashok Saikia, who was a key pointsman in the Prime Minister’s Office when Vajpayee ji was in charge, had initiated all developmental work in PP Mode while Vaishaw was not seen in the picture then. The 1971 batch IAS officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre rose to be additional secretary in the PMO, in charge of education, agriculture, and the tricky but all-important task of handling bureaucratic appointments and transfers. Because of his honest, no-nonsense approach, Saikia was referred to by many colleagues as the Prime Minister’s “Conscience Keeper”. At that time no mention of Vaishnaw. Brajesh Mishra, who was principal secretary in the PMO when Saikia was there, also playing the cards but now after Vaishnaw took over charge of Railways Ministry, many attributing his role in PMO.
Ashwani Vaishnav’s election to the upper house from Odisha had been facilitated by ruling BJD and Chief Minister Patnaik. Despite gaining big in Lok Sabha and State Assembly elections in 2019 riding on the Narendra Modi wave
The State Congress had been alleging that Vaishnav, a former IAS officer, of being hand in glove with the mining mafia, as well as a beneficiary of discretionary quota (DQ) scam in Odisha. The new Railways Minister’s business partners like B Prabhakaran, was prominently figured in Justice MB Shah Commission report, probing into Odisha Mining Scam worth Rs 60,000 Crore while another Sajjan Jindal running from Enforcement Directorate to Supreme Court over several acquisitions including one in Odisha , the Bhushan Steel and Power Limited.
The newly chosen Railways Minister Vaishnaw has been dogged by controversy, primarily because of his association with B Prabhakaran, who was named in the MB Shah Commission report on the massive mining scam in Odisha in 2013. Vaishnaw joined the board of Triveni Pellets Private Limited, a sister concern of Triveni Earthmovers Private Limited, Prabhakaran’s flagship company, as a Director in 2017. In 2018, he, along with Sajjan Jindal of JSW and Prabhakaran, took over Brahmani River Pellets Limited and turned it around in a short period.
