January 15: Political drama on Mayawati's birthday
Today, 15 January, is Mayawati’s birthday. This “great” political entity of India would be turning 54 on this day which, if her dictates would hold over the Nation, might be announced as the National Day of rejoicing and celebration for its people. At present, since her power runs only in Uttar Pradesh, the celebrations and its official ramifications can be seen only in the fore-corners of this State.
On this occasion, she will announce very large projects for the poor and the downtrodden. She shall be stating them as if it were all her personal property, forgetting and letting us forget that what she would be supposedly providing us from her own coffers would be the hard-earned money being returned to us that each one of us would have contributed to the State exchequer, willingly or unwillingly.
This year, she would probably be celebrating her birthday at a low-key level, apparently on the pretext of the Mumbai incidents and as insiders say, more so because of the hugely adverse press she got from the Manoj Gupta murder case which was directly linked with the money-extortion spree that has been going on in the State for the last two months or so. Like a great Yagna, here again, everyone big or small, has been making his own contribution to this great celebration. As Marx would have said- “ By each according to his capacity and (un)willingness.”.
Praises would be sung in her name by her party men, who all know that whatever power, perks and privileges they are enjoying is because of her single-handed charisma. Thus the need to pay their deference to this great lady. The State machinery, with the senior officers leading the pack, would be more than willing to show their extreme regards and submission to her by sharing the remains of her Birthday cake. They would be singing paeans in her praise, using hyperbolic statements with no relations to facts and figures. At the same time, they would be coming up heavily against the leaders of the other major parties.
In short it would be one huge great BSP drama.
Now, let us look at what the other political parties have been doing and how do they fare vis-à-vis the ruling party. As we all know, the chief rival of BSP in the State is the Mulayam Singh led Samajwadi Party, supposedly guided by the socialistic and humanistic principles of Lohia, Karpoori Thakur and so many others. But this is all in paper. What is the Party up to on the ground? On the 15th of January, it would be organizing what it has weirdly called as “Thoo-Thoo Diwas” (Spitting Day) when they would attempt to spit on the photographs of the Chief Minister and would be using all sorts of permissible offensive and abusive language against her, even forgetting the decency of public speech or the fact that she is a woman.
The BJP, the party-in-waiting at the National level, has asked its State women cell to come up with the “Laaj bachao, Suhaag bachao” (Save Honour, Save Life-partner) stir. The Congress has its own “Gaddi Choro” (Leave the throne) program.
Some of the lesser parties have even more colourful names for the various small and big political programs they have planned for the day. The Lok Janshakti Party of Union Coal minister Ram Vilas paswan has planned the “Khooni Diwas” (Bloody Day) to the “Hatyara Diwas” (Murderer day) of the Apna Dal of Sone Lal Patel. The Republican Party of India will have the “Shoshit Diwas” (The Downtrodden day) while the National Dalit Front (a very small and inconsequential outfit) has moved for “Vasuli Diwas” (Extortion day).
In short all these political parties will have the same agenda, the same programs and almost identical language and words, each one eulogizing themselves and condemning and castrating the Mayawati led government for all the ills that Uttar Pradesh faces. They would try the people to come to start believing that they are the sole panacea for them and that the present regime must be ended with immediate effect.
The inherent meaning and intention of all of these would be that what Mayawati is doing presently should be done not by her but by them- they should be given the power to abuse it.
Thus, the entire drama would revolve around self-praise, other’s bad-mouthing and a desire to dupe the people. No concrete words, no programs, no clear thinking, no facts and figures, no logic, no rational. Only loud words, only rhetoric and only sloganeering- to the tune of hooliganism.
If this is what we call democracy, then we in India have the best form of democracy. And Uttar Pradesh lags to none other.
Dr Nutan Thakur
(The author is the Editor of Nutan Satta Pravah)