Cong counters Naveen�s charges point by point. ... NOT!

New Indian Express article (begin)

BHUBANESWAR: Congress on Sunday strongly reacted to the charges made by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik that it has neglected the State always and is an enemy of Orissa.

Criticising the State Government for its �all-round failure�, president of the Orissa Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) Jaydeb Jena said for the first time cotton farmers have committed suicide in the State.

Alleging that the criticism was only a ploy to divert the Government�s failure during the past seven years, Jena asserted that the State has benefited immensely from the UPA Government at the Centre.

Listing the steps taken by the Centre in different sectors for the development of the State, Jena said the KBK scheme has been included under the Eleventh Five Year Plan and a special annual allocation of Rs 250 crore made for the region.

The Centre has also included 24 out of 30 districts in NREGS. Countering charges that the UPA Government has neglected the State in the education sector, Jena said a decision has been taken to set up the National Institute of Handloom Technology (NIHT) at Bargarh and NISER in Bhubaneswar.

The UPA Government has also not neglected Orissa in the industrial sector which is evident from the initiative taken by the Centre to start work of the Paradip refinery project, he said.

New Indian Express article (end)

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My counter:

Although RTI and NREGS are two good initiatives by the UPA government, its actions
with respect to the education sector in Orissa is downright dismal and discriminatory.
First NISER was announced to compensate for the shifting of NIS that was decided during
the NDA government.

Next the Instutite of Handloom Technology will have a budget of a few crores at most
(or less) while budgets of IITs are 1000-4000 crores. IITs offer B.tech. M.Tech and Ph.Ds
and Handloom Technology institute offers only diplomas.

So Does Mr. Jena and his congress party think that people of Orissa are stupid and are
coolies that they won't know the difference between a 1000-4000 crore IIT and
a (at best) 1-2 crore Handloom Technology institute?

Mr. Jena, by his statement of equating an (at best) 1-2 crore handloom technology
institute with an IIT is digging the grave of Congress in Orissa.

Also, Does Mr. Jena know how to read? If so can you please ask him to find
Orissa in the list of 23 institutes that the MHRD has so far announced in India.

Here is the list that appeared in Samaja and Sambada.

1. IISER Kolkata, West Bengal (1)
2. IISER Pune, Maharashtra (1)
3. IISER Mohali, Punjab (1)
4. IISER in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh (1)
5. IISER in Thiruvanthapuram, Kerala (1)
6. IIT in Andhra Pradesh (1)
7. IIT in Rajasthan (1)
8. IIT in Bihar (1)
9. IIM at Shillong, Meghalaya (1)
10. SPA in Vijaywada, Andhra Pradesh (2)
11. SPA in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh (2)
12. Upgradation of Bengal Engineering and Sc U to an IIT clone (IIEST), West Bengal (2)
13. Upgradation of Andhra Univ Engineering College to IIT clone (IIEST), Andhra Pradesh (3)
14. Upgradation of Osmania Univ Engg College to IIT clone (IIEST), Andhra Pradesh (4)
15. Upgradation of IT BHU to IIT clone (IIEST), Uttar Pradesh (1)
16. Upgradation of Cochin Univ of Sc and Tech to IIT clone (IIEST), Kerala (2)
17. IIIT Kanchipuram, Tamilnadu (1)
18. Allahbad University made to a Central University, Uttar Pradesh (2)
19. Manipur University made to a Central University, Manipur (1)
20. Arunachal Pradesh university made to a Central University, Arunachal Pradesh (1)
21. Tripura university made to a Central University, Tripura (1)
22. New Central University in Sikkim, Sikkim (1)
23. CIEFL Hyderabad made to a central university, Andhra Pradesh (5)

Mr. Jena: If you have any sense you should run to Delhi and tell the
congress leaders that people of Orissa are no longer going to
tolerate such discrimination and if congress follows the path it is taking
vis-a-vis Orissa, its future in Orissa is doomed.


sincerely,
Chitta Baral

ps -- Please note that as per http://indiabudget.nic.in/ub2007-08/eb/sbe91.pdf (5.11)
the budget of the Dept. of Textiles the total money for Human Resource Development is Rs 3 crores. It seems like this 3 crores includes the budget for 4 existing handloom institutes and probably as well as the new one proposed in Bargarh.

In contrast as per http://indiabudget.nic.in/ub2007-08/eb/sbe57.pdf there is 80 crores towards the groundwork for 3 new IITs (line 75) and 1553 crores for the exisiting 7 IITs (line 50).

So annual budget of an exisiting IIT is at 222 crores while for an IIHT (Indian Inst of Handloom Technology) it is at best 1 crore.

Please now compare what Orissa is losing (an IIT) and what it may be getting (an inst. of handloom technology) and how Mr. Jaydeb Jena is trying to convince us that they are equivalent.