EPS vs OPS? Govt 2020 calendar pics speak louder than words

Now, the extent to which the latter has been sidelined has been made even more evident after the release of the calendar for 2020. The distribution of calendar for 2020, which given to all Ministers and department secretaries, has now commenced in Secretariat. The calender is found in the cabins of all State government officials.

Every year, the government uses it to highlight its achievements from the previous year and also the important events including the visit of dignitaries. The calendar for 2020, too, follows suit with 24 photos, two each for every month.

EPS’s smiling visage is there on all the photographs, including those that shows him with dignitaries like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Ram Nath Kovind, and even Chinese President Xi Jinping. 

In all those 24 photos, OPS is there in just three, and that too only in group photos. And his image has been reduced so much that one has to search to find him in them. This is in stark contrast to the 2019 calendar where OPS was seen prominently in 10 photos.

Though those close to EPS claimed that this was not done with the knowledge of the Chief Minister, OPS supporters allege that it was an intentional slight and point to the effort to bring down OPS’s importance in the government.