Vishal Jolly,
Why Do You Regret?
By Zubair Ahmed
No doubt, politics and
politicians are always objects of contempt and disdain. With no prerequisites
and criteria to qualify as a politician, irrespective of their position or
standing, generally, they have to bear the sneer and jeer of everyone. The way
they conduct in their public and private zones are equally responsible for the
zoomed lenses focussed on them.
When Vishal Jolly, the
alternating politician-cum-businessman and the ex-president of BJP thought of
encashing the submerged land, he did not expect such hue and cry from outside
and inside the party he belongs to.
Vishal Jolly, once an active
politician and the protégé of Bishnu Pada Ray became a public figure after he
got elevated as the Adhyaksh of Zilla Parishad and proved to be one of the most
corrupt one.
Skirmishes between the Guru and
Shishya had started to surface on the horizon soon after Vishal started
sidelining Bishnu. During his term as State President, tussles became too open
to contain. With the diktat of Vishal banishing Bishnu, the sitting MP from
State Headquarters brought a cataclysm in the political sphere of the Islands . Bishnu was forced to rethink his political
strategy which finally resulted in the launch of Trinamool Congress, with the
blessings of both Bhakta and Bishnu, the two disgruntled politicians of the
major parties. The move deeply affected the prospects of BJP in the
Panchayat/Municipal elections.
In the last couple of years, an unprofessed
armistice between the two resulted in Bishnu getting closer to the party and
Vishal getting far away from it. When Bishnu concentrated on consolidating his
position as a politician in and around the party, Vishal focussed on establishing
a mini-business empire, far far away from the maddening political realm.
He became an irregular politician
showing his face whenever he had to assert himself before the national leaders
when they visited the Islands . Recently, he
shared dias with Rajnath Singh and forcefully spoke against the Admn for their
insensitive approach towards the tsunami-affected farmers. Initially, Vishal
had led the movement as a politician as well as an affected landowner, but his
prolonged hiatus from the political scene had left a void, which Bishnu easily
filled.
Grabbing the opportunity, Bishnu
made deep inroads into the hearts of tsunami-affected farmers and took their
fight to various possible levels. With BJP putting its weight behind Bishnu and
formally taking him back into the party-fold, Bishnu became the face of the
Tsunami affected farmers. Vishal did not even try to recoup and join the fight,
and was left far behind.
The issue, which forced Vishal to
retract and come out with a clarification, is very common among politicians.
They always fail to walk the talk.
However, is the issue as simple
as that? Why the ANI Admn is bent upon publishing photographs of all beneficiaries
of the compensation paid to them? What kind of message does the Admn want to
convey through the whole publicity stunt? Is there an implied battle ensuing
where Admn is trying to gain a lead over somebody?
In fact, the State machinery is
very powerful in Andaman and Nicobar Islands . Nobody
can go against the State and win anything. But, that does not imply that the
Islanders have to behave like slaves and accept whatever is thrown at them. The
bureaucracy with absolute support from the Administrator and ground support
from Congress (I) has taken the Islanders for a blind ride is not a secret to
be unveiled.
The compensation paid to the
farmers is their right, and not charity. The farmers had a genuine demand that
their land should not be surrendered for claiming the compensation. The
Administration including the Administrator miserably failed in convincing both
the farmers as well as the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and faltered at every
step. In contrast, they tried to convince the farmers to take the compensation.
Just a few days back, when the farmers with active support from BJP and its
outspoken MP Bishnu Pada Ray came out with a protest march, the Deputy
Commissioner had assured that the matter would be taken up with the Centre.
Nobody knows what happened to that vague promise. The Administration never
followed a transparent policy in any matter concerned with the Islanders.
The compensation amount now
distributed with much fanfare is indirectly the result of the farmers protests
held at different intervals. Otherwise, the file would have taken another
decade to move from one table to another.
In this cockfight between the
farmers and the Administration, the final victory rests with the
Administration, as they are unison in fighting the citizens. The farmers are completely
perplexed with the day-to-day turn of events, with the Admn sadistically and
psychologically trying all shots to show their might.
In Vishal Jolly, the Admn got the
right opportunity to further demoralise the battle of the farmers. When usually
they published one photograph of the "solemn" functions, this time
they went ahead with publishing three photographs in which two of it featured
Vishal Jolly.
There are farmers who are in dire
need of the compensation package, but for their dignity, are still eagerly
waiting for a positive response where they expect the Admn to give them an
assurance that their land will remain with them. Instead of such a move, the
Admn finds its own happy moments by breaking the movement bit by bit whenever
they get an opportunity.
It will not make any difference
even if the seat of Member of Parliament is taken away from the Islands, as in
any matters concerned with the Islands , his say
does not matter anywhere. The bureaucrat takes most of the decisions on behalf
of the Islanders and we shed tears to protect the sovereignty of the republic.
Vishal Jolly at least had the
guts to apologize, as he is a politician and will have to face the Islanders.
Nevertheless, will the Administration or the Administrator, who too behave as
politicians dare to apologize to the Islanders for the innumerable blunders
they have committed including the Buffer Zone and the Farmers' Compensation
Issue? They are safe playing whatever dirty games they can conjure, as they are not
accountable to anybody in Andaman and Nicobar Islands .
