Reporters' diary: Shifting focus from ship to sheep

Attracting investments in the port, industry and IT sectors is not the only forte of Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik. He can also give the required boost to agriculture and animal husbandry... this is what he has at least proved by consecutively winning the Krishi Karman Award for the last three years. This feat has provided him a strong shield against the Opposition’s attack over the rising farmers’ suicides. Mr Patnaik is busy highlighting a new success of his government these days: registration of Kendrapara sheep at Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)-National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (NBAGR) as the indigenous breed that carries the FecB genetic mutation that enables multiple births and in more numbers than any other breed.

“Registration of Kendrapara sheep by ICAR-NBAGR is a matter of pride for Orissa. Kendrapara sheep population is around 1.23 lakh, reared mostly by farmers in the native pockets of Kendrapara and other nearby districts of Puri, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Bhadrak and Jajpur. Rearing of these indigenous, robust and healthy breeds can drive economic growth and livelihood sustainability for the people in rural areas,” read Mr Patnaik’s Facebook message. He also posted a graphic slide on the main feature sheep breed. His critics are now stunned to see the English-speaking man taking extra interest in agriculture and animal husbandry! The CM is perhaps certainly aiming at the support of shepherds for the coming panchayat polls, they guess.

BJP-BSP POETIC SLUGFEST
The political slugfest between the BSP and the BJP in Uttar Pradesh may have thrown up a great deal of muck but it has also rekindled a sense of humour in people — those who have forgotten how to smile. Politicians, bureaucrats and even journalists these days wake up to two-liners written on the prevailing situation. These couplets come through WhatsApp and SMS and get bolder by the day. Though these two-liners are decidedly casteist in nature, but then casteism is deeply embedded in the psyche of the people of UP.

One such couplet says, “Thakur nahin woh chor hai, jo BSP ki ore hai” — an obviously reference to the Thakur anger towards the BSP after the recent Dayashankar controversy. Another one implores brahmins to stay away from the BSP or face the ire of the community. There are several more that remind people of earlier slogans like “Tilak, tarazu aur talwar” and “Haathi nahin Ganesh hai” that used to be a part of the BSP campaign. The BSP workers, however, have been strictly instructed not to retaliate and no SMS is to be sent out unless approved by the party president.

MAJITHIA’S moustaches
Recently during a court visit in a hearing of a defamation case against Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal in Amritsar, revenue minister and youth Akali Dal president Bikram Singh Majithia was seen twirling his moustaches and flexing his muscles. He even posed for the camera and his pictures were flashed on social media.

Reacting to these pictures, state Youth Congress president Raja Brar, who is known for blunt verbal attacks against the Badal government, said: “Majithia won’t be able to twirl his moustaches after elections as his moustaches won’t be able to hold even if it will twirl them after the election results.” Mr Brar said Mr Majithia is trying to tease the people of Punjab by twirling his moustaches as he is responsible for the deaths of thousands youth due to drug addiction in the state by selling drugs and patronising it.