In what is being seen as an indication of things to come post-2014 elections, former BJP president M Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday urged the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre to "rise above politics" and help the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government in Odisha in its rehabilitation and restoration works after the cyclone and subsequent flooding.

“The Centre should rise above politics and take a humanitarian approach,” Naidu said during a visit to the cyclone and flood-affected regions.
Many in the state are looking at Naidu's softer tone as an effort at rapprochement ahead of the crucial general elections next year. This comes four years after the bitter parting of ways, when BJD chief and Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik broke away from the BJP-led NDA just before the 2009 general elections, accusing the saffron party of being communal.

BJP leaders were subsequently very critical of the BJD, even going to the extent of making derogatory remarks against Patnaik. But equations are changing fast now, with regional parties like the BJD much in demand to get the necessary numbers after the elections.

“The Centre should also lend its hand as the state cannot do it alone with limited resources,” Naidu said. “After discussing with state leaders I will give a detailed report about the devastation to the party president and put pressure on the prime minister for maximum support to Odisha.”

The party would raise this issue in Parliament, while state BJP leaders would seek a special session of the assembly, Odisha unit president of the party KV Singh Deo said.

When Governance Now asked Naidu why Narendra Modi, BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, or any other top party leader did not visit the state in the aftermath of the calamity, an irate Naidu said, “Yeh sawaal pehle prime minister se pooch (ask this of the prime minister first).” 

But despite ostensibly trying to cosy up to Patnaik, Naidu also criticised the state government for what he called slow pace of restoration work. Expressing dissatisfaction with the works, he said, “Electric poles are still lying on road – even 25 days after the cyclone. That is not work on war-footing. The state and the administration has not reached the affected areas; only low-ranking officials like revenue inspectors were moving in rural areas for survey.”

Naidu spoke with the media at Berhampur after visiting a few cyclone-affected villages like Arunpur, Podampeta, Kantiagada, Nua Golabandha and Puruna Golabandha. He also demanded that people in affected areas should be given free ration for three months “without any bias”, as, he claimed, there were complaints of distributing relief on partisan basis. 

“The state has provided relief of Rs 500 and 50 kg rice (to people in impacted areas) but that was not enough,” Naidu said while demanding compensation to farmers and special financial assistance to fishermen, vegetable growers and the homeless poor.

Questioning the state government on another front, he said the administration was not taking other political parties into confidence in relief and restoration work. “(Other) political parties are consulted in such situations (but) I don’t know why Odisha is not doing so,” he remarked. He demanded formation of all-party committees “at all levels – from the block level to the state level – that should meet every month to review relief and restoration work”.