Happy Birthday to Naveen Patnaik, the Leader of the Masses

Bhubaneswar: Today is the birthday of Biju Janata Dal President and Leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik. On this occasion, while we pray for the wellbeing of the most popular mass leader, we would also dive into the nuances that make him great in the contemporary national politics.

Naveen Patnaik is a formidable face of Indian polity and a quintessential leader, who has dedicated his life for the development of Odisha and its people. There are very few politicians in India who can match the stature of Naveen Patnaik and his leadership. His leadership has brought a generational transformation for Odisha. He has brought Odisha to a dominating position among the states of India where others look forward to it for guidance today. The trees that he planted have grown to their full stature and are giving fruits today.

Naveen is a soft-spoken, well-read, and the most cultured political leader, who prefers to work behind the scenes rather than seeking the limelight with rhetoric remains the statesman and has been the most successful Chief Minister of the country. He belongs to a rare breed of politicians for whom there are no enemies but only adversaries.

The leadership of Naveen Patnaik has brought multipronged development to Odisha, which has now been transformed from a backward and debt-ridden state to one of the fastest-growing and fiscally prudent states of India. The state has achieved remarkable progress in reducing poverty and improving human development indicators.

During the Naveen Patnaik’s government, Odisha has emerged as a pioneer and a role model for women empowerment in India. He introduced 50 percent reservation for women in local bodies and co-operative societies, making Odisha the first state to do so. He had also launched several innovative initiatives for enhancing the participation and leadership of women in various spheres of life. The most significant was the Mission Shakti, a self-help group movement that covers over seven million women of Odisha. It has shown the world that successful women empowerment has the trickle down impact on the economy, livelihood, social development, healthcare and education of the state.

Agriculture is the primary source of livelihood for majority of the population in Odisha. Nearly 48 percent of the manpower in the state is engaged in the agriculture sector. Odisha is the only state in the country to have doubled farmers’ income in the last decade. From a rice deficit State, Odisha is now the third largest contributor to the PDS system in the country. Naveen Patnaik’s innovative schemes have ensured farmers’ empowerment.

During his government, Naveen Patnaik gave utmost priority to transformation of the heritage sites in the state. The famous heritage sites and shrines, such as the Puri Srimandir, Lingaraj Temple, Cuttack Chandi Temple, Nilamadhav Temple, Sarala Temple Samaleswari Temple, Maa Taratarini Temple and many more places of religios significance got facelifts to attract visitors and pilgrims from across the country.

Under the leadership of Naveen Patnaik, Odisha has made a giant leap towards achieving his mission of ensuring universal healthcare system. The introduction of Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY) scheme that assures free health services to all the people from sub-centre to medical colleges is a testimony to it.

In the last two decades, the sports infrastructure in the state has undergone massive transformation. Odisha today has become the sports capital of the country. Successful organization of international sports events has caught the limelight of national and international event managers.

During his government, Naveen Patnaik had implemented a slew of reformative measures to strengthen the higher education system in Odisha. The High School Transformation Programme has enabled the students of the government-run schools to get high quality education at par with the leading private schools.

Odisha has today become a global leader and a best practice example for disaster management and resilience due to the visionary leadership of Naveen Patnaik.

In the words of Naveen Patnaik, “If you love your people, you do not see the post you hold as merely a post, but as a means to serve the people. You do not see power mere a power, but as a means to transform the lives of people. Negative associates of politics–power, wealth and position dissolve–into nothingness before one’s love for the people.”

In the last 24 years, the Naveen Patnaik-led government has done a lot of work for the development of Odisha. There has been visible improvement in various areas such as education, healthcare, infrastructure, investment, good governance, welfare of SC and STs, empowerment of women, youth and farmers. The never ending saga of development of Odisha is a testimony to his farsignted leadership and the passion to see that the people of Odisha stay in the front always.