Bhopal: Two days after the video of an alleged associate of a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader urinating on a 36-year-old Kol tribal man in Madhya Pradesh’s Sidhi went viral, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan invited the victim, Dashmat Rawat, to his Bhopal residence Thursday. The CM then went on to wash Rawat’s feet and apologised to him.
In a video shared by the media, the CM is heard calling Rawat his “brother” and assuring him that all the needs of his family will be taken care of. Meanwhile, the accused, Pravesh Shukla, was booked under the stringent National Security Act (NSA) and arrested early Thursday, and alleged illegal construction at his house bulldozed. Both the accused and Rawat are residents of Sidhi.
Political observers and senior party leaders claim there are three reasons behind the CM’s gesture. First, it is a way to control possible damage to the BJP’s image among the tribals who, according to tribal department data, account for 22 per cent of the state’s population. The state is scheduled to hold assembly elections later this year.
In the 2018 assembly elections, the BJP gave its worst performance on tribal seats in general in recent years, managing to secure only 16 of the 47 reserved Scheduled Tribe seats, an analysis of the results show. In both the 2008 and the 2013 elections, the party had won 31 seats each in the region.
However, in the Vindhya region, which includes the districts of Sidhi, Singrauli, Annupur, Satna and Rewa, with about 12 lakh population of Kol tribes, according to the 2011 Census, the party had managed to retain 24 of 30 seats in the 2018 assembly elections.
The CM’s gesture is also being seen as a damage control measure in other poll-bound states where tribals constitute a sizeable part of the population, such as Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, and Telangana.
At the same time, it is also a likely attempt at projecting the CM as an able administrator who is tough on criminals. Chouhan returned as Chief Minister in 2020 with help from Jyotiraditya Scindia and rebel MLAs who toppled the then Congress government. In his fourth term, Chouhan is often seen talking tough and threatening to “bury the mafia under the ground”.
Soon after ordering stern action against Shukla, the CM’s office tweeted, “NSA has been imposed, bulldozer has also started and if needed, Mama ji [as he is often addressed] will bury the criminals 10 feet under the ground. Mama ji‘s message is clear, so people with wrong intentions think 10 times before committing crimes in Madhya Pradesh.”
एनएसए लगा दिया गया है, बुलडोजर भी चला दिया गया है और अगर जरूरत पड़ी तो मामा जी अपराधियों को 10 फुट जमीन के नीचे भी गाड़ देंगे।
मामाजी का संदेश साफ है, इसलिए गलत मंशा वालों मध्यप्रदेश में अपराध करने से पहले 10 बार सोच लेना। https://t.co/x1SUjRuUGb
— Office of Shivraj (@OfficeofSSC) July 5, 2023
According to political analyst Rasheed Kidwai, however, while the video of the urination incident is bad optics for the BJP, bulldozing the culprit’s house will also put the party in a tight spot as the latter belongs to the upper caste community.
“The CM’s actions will not work as a ‘Band Aid’ on the whole controversy, especially in a state like MP where caste remains deeply entrenched. And with the issue being politicised, it is like to hurt the BJP,” he said.
The Congress, on its part, has called the CM’s action “camera theatrics”.
Addressing the media soon after the release of the video showing Chouhan with Rawat, state Congress chief Kamal Nath said, “If he had such pure intentions, he would have done it without the cameras. With cameras on, Chouhan is only doing theatrics and the tribals will not forgive him.”
The BJP has been quick to respond to the attack.
Accusing the Congress of playing appeasement politics, state BJP chief V.D. Sharma defended the chief minister, saying was merely showing respect to the tribal man.
“They [the Congress] look at the tribals as a vote bank, but in Shivpuri, when a Dalit man was harassed by a Muslim (earlier this week), the Congress kept mum. They only take up issues that suit them politically, whereas the CM has attempted to express his sentiments after the video came to light,” he said to ThePrint.
“Under the BJP’s rule, action is not taken after looking at a criminal’s caste or religion, our government has a no-tolerance policy against all criminals,” he added.
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Beyond Madhya Pradesh
Meanwhile, former Congress minister from Sidhi, Kamleshwar Patel, who had sat on dharna at the victim’s house in Sidhi after the urination video went viral, seeking justice for the family, told ThePrint, “The chief minister summoned Rawat to Bhopal without informing his family. When the CM spoke to Rawat’s wife, giving her all sorts of assurances, all she requested was that her husband be sent back home safely.”
With the urination incident deeply politicised, Kidwai said, its ramifications will be felt across states such as Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Telangana, which, like Madhya Pradesh, are scheduled to hold assembly elections later this year.
The incident also comes at a time when the BJP has already suffered a blow in Chhattisgarh, with senior tribal leader Nand Kumar Sai quitting the party in May.
Madhya Pradesh BJP leaders, however, are confident that it will not impact either the party’s poll campaign in other states or the party’s tribal outreach programme in MP.
“The BJP’s outreach is through its committed workers who ensure effective implementation of welfare schemes… Such sporadic videos which are politicised by the Opposition will not affect the BJP in MP or any other state,” the party’s state spokesperson Hitesh Bajpai told ThePrint.
A senior state BJP leader, speaking on condition of anonymity, added, “The CM’s action [of washing Rawat’s feet] is a political message to the Congress that has been trying to politicise the issue. Through his gesture, the CM is sending out a strong message that respecting the poor is akin to worship. It is also a stern message to the executive to take action against the culprit.”
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)