Government owes an explanation for its lapse

By Akshaya Kumar Sahoo

Bhubaneswar, Nov. 17:Embarrassment for the ruling BJD-BJP coalition in Orissa continues. Unlike the previous sessions when the State Government was grilled over scams and scandals relating to mines lease to private parties, the current winter session saw the government on the back-foot over the missing of the judicial commission report on the 1993 stampede at Jagannath Temple in Puri.

The report was prepared after a lot of toil and huge money spent from the state exchequer. The Opposition rightly described the situation and “unfortunate,” and more appropriately, it demanded strong actions against the persons responsible for such a lapse.

It appears that there is nothing unethical in the Opposition’s demand for the law minister Biswa Bhusban Harichandan’s resignation.

The law ministry happens to be the most responsible and quite an all-important organ of any government that guides other departments to run on the track and smoothly. Any deviation would naturally create trouble not only for the particular department but also for the entire system. And that is what has exactly happened in the present case.

This missing of the report indicates how responsibly the state government headed by the much claimed transparent and efficient chief minister Naveen Patnaik functions and how his other ministers and bureaucrats run the show !

In any democratic set-up, accountability is the key word of good governance. When accountability is lost or ignored, the government loses its moral right to rule over the subjects. By sacking a few clerks and peons would no way serve the purpose or absolve the government of its utter negligence.

The government owes an explanation to the people of Orissa; It should tell the world with no ambiguity as to how the report was missed and who were responsible for this? Any silence would only thicken the cloud of doubt about the integrity and honesty of the government – and cast a shadow on its image.