Direct to home

Taking a leaf out of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's communication rule book, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik plans to launch his own version of Mann Ki Baat. His radio address, Apananka Pain, is slated to debut on the proposed Biju Gaan Radio, a state government-sponsored community broadcast network named after Patnaik's late father and former chief minister. The decision is significant as panchayat polls are scheduled to be held in the state early next year. The chief minister has chosen a medium with a wide reach at a time when his government is facing a series of controversies, including the much reported plight of a tribal man in backward Kalahandi region who was forced to carry his wife's corpse on his shoulder.