Original Trackback URL
PHULBANI: Life was never easy for Jamini Mallick. It has become difficult since the past eight months. Forced to shift from one relief camp to another, this native of a nondescript village in Raikia area of Kandhamal district does not talk about the need for development or poverty amelioration in her homeland although elections are around a week away. She, like many other victims of last year's ethno-communal riots, has one poll wish on her lips: "It should not accentuate the existing societal divide on religion lines."
But the policiticians do not seem to care much about such a wish. Can there be elections in present-day Kandhamal, which has become a laboratory for conversions and reconversions, without religion playing its part? Those who understand the realities at ground zero would definitely reply in the negative. And some of those contesting for either of the three Assembly seats in the district or for the Kandhamal Lok Sabha constituency (also spanning neighbouring Boudh, Ganjam and Nayagarh districts) are, overtly or covertly, busy flashing the communal card to cater to their targeted vote banks.
"Religion is the issue in Kandhamal polls. It cannot be avoided," BJP's LS candidate Ashok Sahu said, in an honest admission. Sahu, state Hindu Jagaran Samukhya president, has been telling public gatherings how Christians plotted the August 23 murder of Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and how conversions by Christian missionaries was the root cause of all discord in Kandhamal. Even BJP MLA Karendra Majhi, who is seeking reelection from Baliguda (ST) seat, has not minced words when it comes to hardselling the Hindutva agenda. Their speeches have not escaped the election observers' notice and both have already been served showcause notices, official sources said. The other two BJP nominees Manoj Pradhan (G Udayagiri) and Deba Narayan Pradhan (Phulbani) are also believed to be basing their campaigns on the communal plank, though nothing amiss have been found about their electioneering yet.
Incidentally, Manoj Pradhan, prime accused in the riots with over a dozen cases registered against him, is currently incarcerated and it is his diehard supporters who are doing the job for him.
While BJP's gameplan seems amply clear, BJD and Congress cannot claim to be holier-than-thou. These two parties might not match the saffron organization when it comes to identifying which religion they stand for, but by repeatedly dubbing BJP as "communal" and describing themselves as "secular", they seemingly want to woo the sizeable Christian community. "Christians usually prefer Congress as we are for safeguarding of minority interests. The BJD-BJP government did nothing to protect them during the riots. Ergo, we expect the Christians to vote for us to keep the communal BJP and opportunistic BJD out of power," a Congress man emphatically stated.
But BJD's LS candidate Rudramadhab Ray rubbishes it. "Everybody knows BJP was responsible for the riots and hence BJD dissociated itself from the saffron outfit. The Congress is good at playing divisive politics. BJD is true to secularism. Religion is not an issue for us. Both Hindu and Christian voters are supporting us," he asserted. BJD, apparently, to maintain religious parity has fielded candidates from both communities. If Dinesh Singh Pradhan (Baliguda) and Debendra Kanhar (Phulbani) are Hindus, then Loksuna Majhi (G Udayagiri) is a church-goer. Moreover, the entry of Christian leader Swarupananda Patra, a key minority voice during the riots, into the Naveen Patnaik party just ahead of polls had triggered controversy with BJP accusing BJD of favouring minorities.
Whatever the case, the truth about Kandhamal in Election 2009 is that it has become a high-profile constituency thanks to its communal conflict. If BJP national president Rajnath Singh has already paid a visit, then Congress' Rahul Gandhi would be doing so on Wednesday. While a trip by Naveen is a certainty, BJP still hopes that its trump card Narendra Modi (who couldn't make it on April 5) would show up before April 16, the date till which Jamini and others in Kandhamal's interiors would keep their fingers crossed, praying for nothing but peace.
No comments:
Post a Comment