Protecting Amit Shah will not help BJP

“What do you want me and my men to do with a man like Sohrabuddin?” Narendra Modi asked the Ahmedabad crowd in his usual rhetoric style. The crowd roared-“Kill him”. The scene was frightening in its own way. A Chief Minister justifying the fake encounter openly says a lot about his mindset and what does he think of the “Constitution of the nation” which he is supposed to protect (he didn’t do it in 2002 so there is no point expecting him to do it now when only three lives have lost). The way Modi used Sohrabuddin episode in the rally, it became a political tool since then, but considering the kind of politics he plays & highly polarized figure that he is, its not surprising. Yes, Anything for votes.

To be fair with Mr. Modi, that time even I thought that what is the harm in eliminating a criminal? How does it really matter whether encounter is fake or real? But with time, as the story unfolded, some serious questions surfaced that need to be answered. Its about Politician-criminal-police nexus which is not being emphasized enough. As you look at the bigger picture, the whole argument by BJP of Sohrabuddin’s criminal record & police eliminating a criminal falls flat. There are others ridiculous arguments as well, which in one side looks childish and on other side shows disrespect to the rule of law.

Before I come to those arguments, this whole drama from the beginning was a based on just lies. After Sohrabuddin’s encounter, Gujrat police claimed that he was a L eT terrorist who was planning to kill Chief Minister.(the same theory was played for Ishrat Jehan also and coincidently the players are same). Now when SC has absolved his name from this charge, BJP spokesperson still calling him terrorist is absurd. Now, the argument is put forth that Amit Shah could not be called guilty without being given a fair trial. Fair enough, but by the same logic Sohrabuddin also deserved a fair trial. Why was he denied the same right and labeled a terrorist? If Sohrabuddin’s encounter was justified (considering his criminal background), what justifies killing of his wife Kausar Bi and another witness Prajapati? Who is criminal here? Only Sohrabuddin? Was the whole drama and exercise was an honest attempt by Gujrat Police to keep the society criminal free? It seems unlikely. As the chargesheet filed by CBI reveals, Amit Shah and a coterie of police officials ran an extortion racket themselves and Sohrabuddin was also a part of it. If actions of Sohrabuddin makes him a criminal then why not Police official who were too in the same business be considered criminal too? Why different set of standards for different people? As a CBI official claimed-after 10 days of his encounter they extorted Rs 5-6 crore from builders and businessmen. There are other witness accounts too which confirms the claims of CBI. Gujrat CID report also says that the calls made by the minister are not part of official decorum. Their frequency is unnatural and uncommon in nature. In another case Gujrat govt has buried its own report in Ketan parekh case where Amit Shah was bribed.

Interestingly, CBI has been termed as “Congress Bureau of Investigation” which to some extent is true. CBI is losing its credibility fast. The reasons are obvious, it has allowed its officials to be used by politicians. But Gujrat government had been accused of misusing its police & other institutions for its political purposes too. How can Gujrat government forget, SC transferring a few cases out of Gujrat for lack of trust. And in this particular case too, it is Supreme Court which directed CBI to investigate the matter categorically expressing its doubt about the manner it was being investigated by state agencies. Congress, being at the centre may have considerable influence over the CBI, but CBI has to probe and report to Supreme Court not Congress. It’s a different matter, using some cases as political tool or not investigating properly a case to protect someone and entirely different matter to implicate someone of the stature of Amit Shah in a false case in as serious a crime as murder. As if Narendra Modi will allow it to happen. Moreover, in such a high profile case, can CBI really manipulate the whole thing to look stupid in the end? Supreme Court will tear apart the whole organization. Or is it that BJP doesn’t trust SC even? Not surprising because they never trusted anyone but themselves. CBI going after Amit Shah, a right hand man of Chief Minister without proper evidence seems unlikely for various reasons. BJP itself is a big political party and Narendra Modi’s clout in it is no less. His silence in this entire episode in itself raises so many questions. BJP is part of NDA and none of its allies coming in support of him is again a big fact. Or is it they too are blind of the fact of misuse of CBI? A look into the rise of Amit Shah to his present status tells a different story. Shah apart from being home minister handles nine other departments including law, jails, prohibitions, police housing, parliamentary affairs, transport. He was aptly rewarded for his crucial role in engineering unceremonious removal of Keshubhai Patel from the CM’s office in October 2001, and Modi was made CM by the BJP. Shah has a considerable clout in the state government. Shah emerged as a key handler of crucial cases that could hurt his mentor, Narendra Modi. Modi delegated all the dirty work to Shah who executed it with ruthlessness. In light of this Narendra Modi’s silence till now could be seen as an attempt to maintain his so called clean image. But if BJP can question Prime Minister for the acts of his cabinet minister, Modi too is answerable for conduct of his minister. His minister was literally underground for the past three weeks and Modi unaware of these happenings doesn’t go down well. But then It is for CBI and Supreme court to decide whether Amit Shah is guilty or not. What worries me is conduct of BJP in this entire episode. Least BJP could have done is to make Amit Shah resign from the responsibilities he enjoys in Govt and cooperate in investigations with CBI no matter how partisan they claim CBI is or at least approached courts with facts on why they think CBI is partisan. Then his taking on CBI and congress would have made any sense. But BJP is playing its old victimhood card once again. I fail to understand why Supreme court, CBI, Media or anyone speaking against BJP minister is biased and not they themselves. Why behaving like Modi or Shah are some Godly figures that can commit no sin as if they are like Jesus and are being crucified for being on the path of truth. Why can’t they come out with some hard facts to counter CBI allegations than indulging in all digressive talks from CBI misuse to Bofors. None of these arguments justifies the alleged conduct of its own ministers.

In the end, I would like to say that BJP is the main opposition party in parliament. The role of opposition is very important in democracy. It will do no good to the party to blame everybody else and not looking within themselves. We, the citizens of this country need a responsible political party as an alternative to Congress. If BJP doesn’t trust SC, CBI or any other institution, How would a common man trust any institution? There are problems no doubt but what we need is to address those problems to restore their image as fair and just institutions. Blaming institution to save their leader doesn’t serve any purpose.

Book review-Recalcitrance authored by Mr. Anurag Kumar

There is nothing better than getting lost in a good historical novel. Recalcitrance is not just a historical novel but a journey into what we consider the first war of independence and how it affected our city Lucknow. Anurag presented his work in almost as personal in tone as a memoir.

Before I embark on some beautiful things about his work, its pertinent to mention how I got interested in his work, Recalcitrance. One day I met him in a tweet up get together at Lucknow. While he talked about his research on 1857 uprising, I was amazed to see the passion with which he spoke. Given the kind of research Anurag has done, its like a history given a fictional treatment. Then interactions with him on twitter and a few reviews in his blog generated enough curiosity in me to give it a try.

Soon, I embarked on a journey to the events through Anurag’s character as alive as to compel us to care about them and turn pages quickly to discover what happens to them next(I finished reading this book in two consecutive nights is a testimony of this fact). The story is delivered in well timed chapters interspersed with contemporary events during those turbulent times. As the story unfolds, I came across some beautiful characters, who were unique in their own way. These characters who belonged to different religions and caste, united for the cause of our motherland. At its core it is a story of ordinary human beings doing what they must to survive and restore honor of this great nation. The story starts with a highly charged atmosphere and kept me engaged with its tautly written plot throughout. Anurag wraps his story in a stony silence with a grim reminder that mission at hand (and heart too) is not over yet.

What I liked most about the novel Recalcitrance is, it is not about some superhero kind of characters. If I recollect my knowledge of 1857 uprising, it just revolves around a few kings of those times. Here is this novel which presents a different perspective through the eyes of common people, their fear, confusion, agony and then their excitement and patriotism against all odds. As one anonymous character white turbaned man puts it in an address- Many of you might not have even heard of a fire of the bullet. These people rising to the occasion to take on the mightiest empire of those days is incredible. It was a different experience altogether as if I was living those moments, those feelings through its characters. This novel has put forth a very important question- Whether history is about people or just a few individuals as it is currently made out to be? A serious thought needs to be given into this.

Anurag presents his story in a language easily comprehensible (you don’t need to keep a dictionary beside). He has deliberately used some crude hindi terms in between which add to the authenticity of his work. He has highlighted some social realities of those days normally absent in history works. He succeeds in his argument that a mere historical work would not have allowed him to say all he managed through his novel.

In the end, I would like to conclude that I have deliberately not dwelled on the story and its characters for I want the readers to go through every emotion and feeling themselves as I went through. I feel it is a must read for anyone to see the events through the eyes of ordinary common people. This book has enriched me with knowledge and understanding of my own city, Lucknow. Given the kind of enrichment this novel offered, I feel privileged to recommend it to every Lucknowite for it can change your vision about this beautiful city and every person in general who have respect for this nation, its history and its values.

Jai Hind.

Akhtar Hussain