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The Rediff Special/ Arup Chanda

Sex, lies and political opportunism

Sex, lies and political opportunism. That in short sums up present-day Orissa, a state that was once ruled by Emperor Ashok and is proud of its rich heritage.

First about sex, since, surprisingly, this subject seems to have enjoyed more priority over the last decade than even development in this backward state of eastern India.

It all began with the alleged escapades of Chief Minister Janaki Ballabh Patnaik. Affidavits alleging foul play by the chief minister were filed in court. The issue became a tool in the hands of political parties, was dragged to court, and ended with the court exonerating Patnaik and directing the accusers to tender an unconditional apology.

Patnaik was thrown out of office in the 1990 assembly election. But even the Janata Dal government led by Biju Patnaik was not free of sexual scandal. Damodar Rauth, a Dal minister, allegedly patted a tribal lady sarpanch on her backside. The dapper Biju Patnaik rushed to his colleague's rescue, describing him as a "real man". But the Opposition Congress was loath to let go of the opportunity and its women activists gheraoed Rauth and humiliated him. But the issue slowly died down.

In the 1995 election, the Congress returned to power and J B Patnaik was back as chief minister. Within two years the case of Anjana Mishra came up. Mishra alleged that Orissa's advocate-general Indrajit Ray tried to molest her when she had gone to meet him at his home to discuss her case against her husband, Subhash Mishra, an officer of the Indian Forest Service.

Ray, said to be a confidant of J B Patnaik, vehemently denied the charge and the chief minister did not remove him from office till the Orissa high court ordered an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation. Thereafter the battle between Anjana Mishra and her husband and against the deposed advocate-general continued in court and found attention only in the local media.

Around two months ago, the national media broke another story alleging J B Patnaik's involvement in a new sexual scandal. Jaydev Panda, a Congress politician and former associate of the chief minister, swore an affidavit before a public notary alleging that his wife, Babita, was being sexually exploited by Patnaik. The Opposition promptly took up the issue and noisy scenes were witnessed in the state assembly.

But the Opposition campaign suffered a setback when the Pandas denied the affidavit and described Patnaik as a "father figure". The notary, Madhumadhab Jena, however, insisted having recorded the affidavit. A copy is now reportedly with Congress president Sonia Gandhi, courtesy Patnaik's rivals in the Congress.

But the biggest controversy of all broke out last week when Anjana Mishra alleged that three men raped her at the chief minister's behest.

The matter has snowballed into a national issue and Patnaik's fate is now in the hands of Sonia Gandhi. Mishra, meanwhile, is yet to recover from the trauma of the incident and is going painfully through the legal processes.

According to a senior Oriya journalist who has spent most of his days outside the state, "It is strange that Orissa always makes it to the headlines only when sexual scandals break out. Otherwise, there is no news from the state since the days of the Kalahandi famine are over".

What happened on the night of January 9, 1999? Anjana had been provided police protection following an order of the Orissa high court. That evening she planned to go to Cuttack to meet her lawyer. A friend, Sutanu Guru, a television journalist, was at her home at the time and she asked him to accompany her. They hired a private taxi and left at about 2030 hours.

But the police records show that she left her residence at 2230 hours. Police investigations also reveal that Anjana, Guru and the taxi driver were seen at a dhaba (roadside eating place) at Barang, where the incident took place at 2230 hours. So how did they cover a distance of at least 15 km in a second?

Following the allegation of gang-rape, Patnaik, instead of condemning the incident, dismissed it as a conspiracy against him at the behest of his detractors. He even went to the extent of asking what Anjana was doing at a dhaba of ill repute so late at night, thus indirectly admitting the absence of law and order in the state.

Anjana was charged with not allowing her security personnel to accompany her. But then a police picket is permanently posted at her residence. Did the policemen there inform their seniors that she was leaving her house even at 2230 hours? There is no answer.

Instead, the police, in an attempt to cover up their failure to arrest the two other culprits, seem to be busy interpolating their own records.

Since action was taken against some policemen, a section of the force went to the extent of questioning Guru's relationship with Anjana and demanded that he be medically examined. Resorting to untruths and irresponsible statements has become the order of the day in Orissa.

Says a retired bureaucrat: "Sensing his imminent downfall, Patnaik and his men have lost their heads and are saying things which even a truant child will not say when caught."

However, neither Anjana nor Guru are above suspicion. Anjana was allegedly raped for more than three hours inside the private taxi in which she was travelling. What then were Guru and the taxi-driver doing during such a long period?

After the incident Anjana did not go to the police station. The next morning she went to meet her lawyer in Cuttack. Failing to meet him, she went to the Mahila police station in Cuttack only in the afternoon, accompanied by Tapasi Praharaj, a woman politician of the Communist Party of India-Marxist. Why did she take so much time to report the matter to the police?

These questions remain unanswered as yet. Even Anjana and Guru's friends are puzzled.

Finally, political opportunism.

Who is Anjana Mishra? She is one of those innumerable women in India who are engaged in legal battles with their husbands. When she accused the police of not registering her complaint against her in-laws and husband, no political party came to her rescue. It was only after she accused Indrajit Ray of trying to molest her that they sat up and took notice.

Since Ray was known for his proximity to Patnaik, the Opposition found the charge very handy and raised a hue and cry. But Ray's removal forced them as well as Patnaik's rivals within his party to keep quiet. Now, Anjana's alleged rape has come as a god-sent to them.

Only last year the main Opposition Janata Dal had split, giving birth to the Biju Janata Dal. But on this issue all Opposition parties united and within 24 hours agitations against the chief minister spread like wildfire.

While Patnaik's rivals rushed to Delhi to meet Sonia and demand his removal for harming the party's image, the entire Opposition, including the Communists and the Bharatiya Janata Partu, who are otherwise at one another's throats, united and called a 12-hour bandh in the state.

A woman who till the other day received no help when she needed it is now being described as a 'crusader' and a Durga who would remove Patnaik from office. She is being even promised financial help to "carry on her crusade" and projected as a united Opposition candidate against the chief minister in the assembly election due in 2000.

But one fact that all the vested interests have forgotten is the trauma her two children are undergoing in a boarding school. Because of a court order their mother is not allowed to see them. They are the worst sufferers, caught in a sordid game played by adults for their selfish ends.

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