Tags:
Journalism of Courage
So the sanyasin is out of prison and the BJP is liberated. The Hubli judicial magistrate has allowed the application filed in 8217;02 by the additional public prosecutor, withdrawing the cases against Uma Bharati and 21 others. If there is one party that should look for a place to hide, it should be the Congress. Twice, it filed applications for withdrawal of all cases8212;first the S M Krishna government and the new one, too, as recently as this June. But then the law caught up with a man called Shibu Soren and someone in the Congress who, we may never know came up with a harebrainwave: let8217;s reverse our stand, let8217;s score a self-goal, let8217;s put the sanyasin in jail, even wrap her in the Tricolour. Make it look as if her party is leading the country8217;s second freedom struggle.
For the BJP, it8217;s as good as it gets. It has clutched with piteous glee even the tiniest straws that have come its way 8212; as for instance the imagined slight caused by the PM8217;s 8216;8216;handling8217;8217; of its budget memorandum. Did he fling it onto the table or did he place it gently became a key question of national politics as the Budget slipped by, undebated. But, more importantly, as Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Bharati was a monumental embarrassment to her party8212;and one that was growing bigger by the day. From police officers holding yagnas to a coterie that worshipped the ground beneath her feet, the state is in a mess. Good riddance to Uma is good politics for the party.
There is also the power play that will inevitably kick in should Bharati miss her Bhopal Bungalow even as her successor Babulal Gaur has indicated that he plans to stay. This could turn out to be a headache for the BJP. The party high command would like nothing more than to use Uma Bharati on its own terms. As for the Congress, let it wipe some egg from its face and look in the mirror.
