Article 355 is believed to be issued by the Centre against Orissa

Article 355 is believed to be issued by the Centre against Orissa to ensure that the state government carry out its constitutional responsibilities
A BJD lawmaker said the move was prompted by a desire to appease Christians. “You cannot subvert the constitutional process just to look good to a certain group of people,” said Tathagata Satpathy.
The Centre’s directive will be used by the BJP, which will term it “minority appeasement” and try to win Hindu votes, predicts Kamal Mitra Chenoy, professor, school of international studies at Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University. But, he added, “no one will believe the BJP.”
Subhash Kashyap, a constitutional expert and former secretary general of the Lok Sabha said no Union government has used the provisions of Article 355 effectively. “It gives more powers than just issuing directives,” he said.
Significantly, Article 356 enables President’s rule.
In 2002, the NDA government successfully resisted calls from the opposition to issue directives under Article 355 to the BJP government in Gujarat in the wake of sectarian violence that left at least 1,000 people, largely Muslims, dead. Last year, the UPA resisted calls for directives being issued to the Left government in West Bengal after violence erupted in certain parts over the state’s land acquisition policy. The Left parties were then key allies of the UPA. Read