By Japan K Pathak: Call it a tragedy tourism or political tourism whatever, but more political leaders are flying to Gujarat for paying visit to atrocity case victims in small Mota Samadhiyala village near Una town.

Janata Dal United(JDU) leader Sharad Yadav will be visiting Mota Samadhiala village tomorrow. Communist party leaders Sitaram Yechuri, D.Raja and Lok Sabha member P K Biju are also coming to Gujarat tomorrow. Earlier Nationalist Congress Party(NCP) leader Praful Patel, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Aam Admi Party(AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal paid visit to victims.

It is learnt that Bahujan Samaj Party(BSP) leader Mayavati is also visiting Una on July 24.

Some of other politicians that are flying to Gujarat are Trinamool Congress leaders Derek O’Brien, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar and Pratima Mandal. While Derek is Rajya Sabha MP, other two are Lok Sabha MPs.

It is very stereo typed. These politicians will fly to Rajkot or Diu. Travel to Mota Samadhiala, meet the victim, have tea at his house, hear explanation, watch video in mobile phone, deliver good words and then speak to media persons probably against the BJP and the Gujarat government. Similarly in Rajkot, they will visit hospital and meet the victims admitted there.

How these ‘Peepli live’ visits of political leaders who are neither in power in state nor in centre will benefit anyone?

D. Raja puts it like this. He says, “the situation in Gujarat is worsening. We are going there to express solidarity with the dalit community as well as understand the ground situation.”

Fine, but if Peepli Live visits are about showcasing support to victims, then let me say Mota Samadhiyala has witnessed shameful atrocity incident in which some people are brutally thrashed by another group of people, but in very large areas of east and southern India, dalit and tribal villagers are not just beaten up or thrashed but brutally eliminated by naxals/maoists and others on regular basis. None of these political leaders pay visit to those areas after such incidents to offer warmth, relief or support. Few of such incidents that are left-wing terror connected ones are listed in this thread.

There’s no need to add here that these Peepli Live visits to Gujarat are aimed at achieving political benefits. It’s dirty dirty politics for which Gujarat is being used. Mota Samadhiyala is attracting political tourists in good number primarily due to several reasons listed here; 1. Victims are from among dalit/tribal/minority group, 2. Gujarat is ruled by BJP 3. The attack which was full of madness was over the issue of cow and it was by so-called Shiv Sena(saffron saffron, Hindutva forces!) workers(Shiv Sena’s Saurashtra unit chief however denies the existence of so called Gir-Somnath unit of party from very first day) 4. Uttar Pradesh is going to witness general election in few months from now and positioning BJP against dalits by magnifying this incident of BJP-ruled Gujarat is potentially useful for Uttar Pradesh where dalit votes are crucial. Remember Patel agitation and ‘BJP against reservation’ hype during Bihar polls? Doesn’t this present issue look like going in direction of ‘BJP against dalits’ hype ahead of UP elections? 5. Gujarat is a home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, 6. media is offering traction 7. Gujarat is going to witness assembly elections next year 8. If A, B, C and D parties are eying votes from same group. After A’s visit, B, C and D also have to pay visit.

Good if visits of these leaders can bring any solution to anybody’s problem. Good if these leaders make it a regular habit to visit every small village where dalits, or say any person from any caste/group is thrashed and beaten up brutally by another powerful group(though the group involved in thrashing in Una case has OBCs and a Muslim too in it). Good if every such incident is raised in parliament and actions are sought from the government, irrespective of the fact which party is in power in that particular state and in centre.

Actually the BJP government led by Anandiben Patel is far more democratic, kind and open. Otherwise look what happened when BJP’s fact-finding team wanted to visit Malda in Mamta Banerjee ruled West Bengal last January. The fact finding team consisting BJP MPs was sent back from railway station citing prohibitory orders. Similarly during Dadri row in Uttar Pradesh, the State government there had denied permission to opposition politicians including BJP and Congress leaders. All Anandiben had said in reply to media’s query was that: let the leaders of various political parties come here and know the facts, but then they should tell only facts to others after they complete their visits.

It’s sad that when buses were burning, public property was being damaged, mobs were on rampage in pockets of Gujarat, Rahul and Kejriwal were through their statements trying to provoke a particular group of people here against the government(watch this statement of Kejriwal that he gave in Gujarat and tweeted too). Rahul was here as a main opposition party’s vice president(he was sleeping a day earlier in parliament during this atrocity incident related debate), but Kejriwal is Chief Minister of Delhi. Hasn’t he any job to do in Delhi, the city-state which is in mess? How come he has so much free time to spend in Gujarat? Did he visit the family of a farmer who committed suicide in his rally in front of him? Or what about this very recent AAP cadre suicide case?

Only useful thing for victims during these Peepli Live trips so far was Rs 7 lakh total sum that was announced for victims by Gujarat Congress and Nationalist Congress Party(NCP) during Rahul Gandhi’s and Praful Patel’s visits. Gujarat Congress is going to deliver Rs 5 lakh total relief while NCP has announced Rs 2 lakh relief. At least this poor rural family will be able to buy something worth using this money. However singling out this one case and offering few lakh is any solution? No. Gujarat government has under the ongoing scheme already announced Rs 4 lakh assistance for each victim. Rs 1 lakh had been paid to each of them by Gujarat government much before this issue came to limelight nationally. Gujarat Chief Minister has announced that within two months, the victim family will be covered under all existing government schemes, benefits of which they deserve.

Tell me, in which atrocity incident(whether in limelight or not), which was the government that offered so much to victims and took such actions?

The left and socialist leaders should instead of blabbering over Gujarat episode, tell their comrade criminals to stop killing tribals and dalits through Kangaroo courts and even otherwise.

Tail-end

Kejriwal triggers fresh contoversy, meets ‘murder accused’ in Gujarat

Dalit victim re-admitted to hospital in Rajkot, hours before Rahul Gandhi’s visit

 

A woman Rahul Gandhi met during his Civil hospital visit in Rajkot has no relation to victim, she met Rahul in garb of victim’s mother

Gir-Somnath district AAP convener Sangita who had said ‘Brahmins are Bhadvaa’ with her leader Kejriwal during Samadhiala visit

DeshGujarat