TAKING THE STEAM OUT WITH ÉLAN

SEETHING IN anger for long against his erstwhile ally and Enemy No. 1 — the BJP — for persistently attacking him and his party on the “deplorable” condition of dalits and tribals in the state, Orissa Chief Minister and Biju Janata Dal president Naveen Patnaik was looking for an opportune moment to strike back. “Such derogatory remark against a national leader like Mayawati is against democratic norms. She is a former CM of Uttar Pradesh and a dalit leader who is respected at the national level. The remark against Mayawati shows the BJP’s anti-dalit stand,” Mr Patnaik said on Thursday, breaking his week-long silence over the BJP’s biting onslaught on the killing of five tribals in police firing in Kandhamal and the death of over 19 tribal infants at Nagada in Jajpur. Mr Patnaik’s statement came just days after the BJP opened its tribal and dalit cards to corner the ruling BJD ahead of panchayat polls, alleging that these two communities were not safe in the hands of the BJD, forcing saffron party strategists to return to their war room to re-draw their assault plans and tactics.