Anil Anand
Bhopal the cultural hub and known for its ‘tehzeeb’, has suddenly acquired the sobriquet of being the political hotbed but not for the right reason. It is the Congress veteran Digvijay Singh (known for his anti-RSS and controversial Hindutava terror rants) versus yet another controversial figure Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur ( terror accused in Malegoan blast case) of the BJP contest for this prestigious Lok Sabha seat that has raised many pertinent questions.
The question being raised is whether it was avoidable for the BJP to field her given the charge against Sadhvi and the fact that she is out on bail in a terror related case which is currently under legal scrutiny before the court of law. Leaving aside the viciously adversarial debate that her candidature has led to between BJP and Congress — if she is on bail, so is Congress president Rahul Gandhi in National Herald case, say the BJP leaders in defence- it is more Ssignificant to study the fallout of Pragya’s candidature particularly in the backdrop of her comments on martyred senior IPS officer Hemant Karkare who was felled by terrorists’ bullets during 26/11 Mumbai attack.
In her maiden press conference after becoming the BJP candidate she not only showed distaste against Karkare who was posthumously honoured with India’s highest civilian award the Ashow Chakra, but shockingly announced that he died as result of a ‘sharrap’ (curse) given by her to the police officer who she alleged was trying to frame her in terror related cases. Later, under public pressure she partially retracted her statement and even apologised for remarks against Karkare.
What made the episode more obnoxious were the top BJP leaders led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi coming to her defence though they dissociated themselves from her comments against Karkare. The party leadership tried to justify her outbursts on one or the other count and at the same time maintain that these were her personal views. So the dichotomy continues.
There is no doubt that the Sadhvi has not yet been exonerated in Malegoan case and the dictum that one is innocent till pronounced guilty by the court holds true in her case as well. But given the dimensions of the case, related to terror, it would have been appropriate had she not been fielded till the final disposal of the case.
The politics in her case seems to have got precedence over public probity and national interest. The only reason and instigation for BJP to field her was to checkmate Digvijay Singh who had been regularly speaking about the dangers posed by Hindutava terror. Perhaps the saffron party’s poll strategist found it fit to unleash (electorally) the Sadhvi on him to save the party’s stronghold of Bhopal which last elected Congress nominee 24 years back. At the same time it would assist BJP in taking forward their Hindutava agenda while condoning the Hindutava terror theory which was first mentioned by the then Home Secretary R K Singh who subsequently became BJP MP in 2014 and later Union Minister for Power. The bureaucrat turned politician is again contesting election from Bihar.
Who wins or who loses is insignificant as compared to broader national interest? What is more significant is that how Pragya Thakur’s candidature impact the overall ethos particularly when she has not cared a wee bit to lambast martyr Karkare.
In this context two signed articles written by two illustrious Indian Police Service officers who personally knew Karkare not only make interesting reading but have set the alarm bell ringing. The write ups by that doyen of a police officer Julius Ribeiro ( former DGP of Punjab) in The Tribune and S S Virk, former DGP of Punjab and Maharashtra and a batchmate of Karkare, in Indian Express ( both articles appeared on April 23, 2019) give a firsthand account of their conversations with the late officer regarding the Hindutava terror cases that he was pursuing.
The write-ups throw ample light on Karkare’s commitment to expose terror networks and how the devout Hindu within him with many of his close relatives being staunch BJP supporters added to his dilemma. But ultimately he went ahead with the call of the duty and made supreme sacrifice at the altar of the nation.
The write-ups though have not dealt with the political aspect of Pragya’s candidature they have subtly tossed many questions that directly relate to her new found avtar of being the BJP candidate. The question arises whether conquering Bhopal and under the garb of Pragya furthering their Hindutava agenda with an eye on polarising the society for electoral purpose more important than the overall national interest? Logically the national interest should be supreme but than politics has its own strange ways where everything could be justified even in the name of the national interest.
This is the first time that a mainstream political party ruling both at the Centre and majority of the states has fielded a candidate implicated in a terror case though yet not convicted. It is certainly a bad example which not only undermines the national interest but could set bad example and seriously undermined the societal unity.
“Sir I am a Maharashtrian Brahmin and a high caste Hindu. But does it mean that only Muslims and Sikhs are terrorists and violent acts of Hindu groups needed to be condoned,” Virk quoted Karkare having told the former during one of their conversations. And this statement is self-explanatory in many respects.
Ever since R K Singh joined BJP and became Minister, he has not said a word on the Hindutava terror which he had been referring to as Home Secretary. Interestingly, he has not retracted till date nor has he spoken in favour of either the Sadhvi or the BJP’s move to field her from Bhopal. Is not it time for the investigating agencies, in this case the NIA to talk to Singh the ex-Home Secretary?
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