top of page

By:

Correspondent

21 August 2024 at 10:20:16 am

Grim Reckoning

The heckling of Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee during the latter’s visit to Sonarpur is a stark reminder that fear has an expiry date. For years, West Bengal’s politics has been defined by intimidation. First the Communist, and later during Mamata Banerjee’s TMC regimes, the state’s political discourse has been overwhelmingly accompanied by violence, cadre dominance, partisan policing and a culture in which dissenters were expected to keep their heads down and their opinions to...

Grim Reckoning

The heckling of Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee during the latter’s visit to Sonarpur is a stark reminder that fear has an expiry date. For years, West Bengal’s politics has been defined by intimidation. First the Communist, and later during Mamata Banerjee’s TMC regimes, the state’s political discourse has been overwhelmingly accompanied by violence, cadre dominance, partisan policing and a culture in which dissenters were expected to keep their heads down and their opinions to themselves. Whether in villages, municipalities or university campuses, countless Bengalis, especially the Hindu community, have complained that political power was exercised not only through the ballot box but through fear during the TMC rule. Against this backdrop, the scenes that unfolded during Abhishek Banerjee’s Sonarpur visit was a symbolic moment. The TMC political class that once inspired fear suddenly found itself confronting fearlessness and the ire of ordinary citizens. Trinamool leaders accustomed to hectoring and threatening the public were forced to face its ire as Abhishek was heckled and pelted with eggs. The Trinamool Congress would be mistaken if it dismisses the episode as an isolated incident. Across West Bengal after the polls, there is a palpable anger against TMC leaders and their henchmen. That simmering rage appears increasingly difficult to contain. For years, Abhishek Banerjee had projected himself as the heir apparent to Bengal’s ruling establishment, speaking haughtily with the confidence of a man convinced that power was permanently on his side. Now that the TMC is out of power, Sonarpur offered a starkly different picture. It showed what happens when politicians who are accustomed to commanding the public are suddenly confronted by it. From the horrors of Sandeshkhali to the public fury unleashed after the R.G. Kar outrage, West Bengal witnessed episode after episode that laid bare the TMC’s intimidation and moral corruption. The crowd that confronted Abhishek Banerjee at Sonarpur was venting years of accumulated resentment against a political culture many Bengalis had come to associate with arrogance, patronage and strong-arm tactics. They reflected what a significant section of the public has increasingly come to see as the moral bankruptcy of a political order that believed it could rule indefinitely through fear and organisational muscle. Abhishek Banerjee, more than any other TMC leader, had became the face of that system. The hostility he encountered in Sonarpur was political payback delivered by a public no longer willing to whisper its anger. While no civilised society should endorse mob violence, no politician can expect public sympathy after years of bullying and intimidating citizens. He or she must realize that political arrogance has consequences and that public anger, when it finally erupts, grinds even the most powerful dynasties to dust. Abhishek Banerjee’s reception in Sonarpur may therefore prove to be more than an embarrassing political episode. It may become the defining image of Trinamool’s final decline and fall.

Finally, Modi accepts ‘collective leadership’

Updated: Mar 31, 2025

Insiders say the PM’s Nagpur visit was aimed at reaffirming the Sangh principle

Mumbai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) headquarters in Nagpur on Sunday on the birthday of its founder Dr. Keshav Baliram Hedgewar is being interpreted in various ways. The crux of the visit is the BJP’s reaffirmation to the principle of ‘collective leadership’ that the Sangh has been practicing and preaching all along.


The government under PM Modi is credited for tirelessly pursuing the RSS agenda without paying heed to the opposition it has been facing. However, since past some time the RSS had been unhappy over certain decisions that were made without following the set procedures for consultation between the two organizations.


The decisions, RSS felt, had been indicative of a certain group gaining undue weightage within and control over the BJP party organization. This led to BJP national president J P Nadda continue being in the post even after his extended tenure too has ended over two months ago. The friction within the two organizations is believed to have led to Nadda’s statement that the BJP did not need the RSS support anymore and the BJP’s underperformance in the Lok Sabha elections that followed soon after in May 2024.


Firm RSS

Sources close to developments said that the RSS put in its feet firm for implementation of the principle of ‘collective leadership’ within the BJP.


On this backdrop, PM Modi lauded the RSS workers on Sunday. He said that they had contributed selflessly to humanitarian efforts including disaster relief. "Their selfless service has been evident in times of floods, earthquakes, and most recently, at the Maha Kumbh," the Prime Minister said and added, 'Jahan seva kaarya, wahan swayamsevak'. Where there are problems and difficulties, swayamsevak is there to help people. They don't see their own personal problems and work selflessly with the spirit of service," PM Modi said in his address to the public in Nagpur.


With RSS celebrating its centenary this year, PM Modi stated that the ideas that were sown hundred years back, today has grown into this 'vat vriksh' big tree in front of the world. symbolising longevity and immortality.


Prime Minister Modi said, "...The ideas that were sown a hundred years back has today grown into this 'vat vriksh' in front to the world. The principles and ideologies give height to this tree.


The lakhs and crores of kar sevaks are the branches of it. This is not a common tree, it is RSS, the modern 'akshay vat vriksh' of India's immortal culture... Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is the modern Akshay Vat of the immortal culture of India. Today, this Akshay Vat is constantly energizing the Indian culture... the consciousness of our nation."


Praising Parivar

He also highlighted the involvement of RSS workers in initiatives like Vanvasi Kalyan Ashrams, Ekal Vidyalayas for tribal children, cultural awakening missions, and Seva Bharati's efforts to serve the underprivileged. Lauding the exemplary work of volunteers during the Prayag Mahakumbh, where they assisted millions through the Netra Kumbh initiative, he emphasized that wherever there is a need for service, volunteers are present. He remarked on the disciplined response of volunteers during disasters like floods and earthquakes, highlighting their selflessness and dedication to service.


This praise showered by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the RSS is being interpreted as his assurance to the organizational leadership of adhering to the principle of ‘collective leadership’. It is said that the public programs were followed by a one on one meeting between PM Modi and RSS Sarasanghachalak Mohan Bhagwat. It is also said that what transpired in the meeting shall be known soon in the form of appointment of the new BJP president.


Next BJP President

The BJP is considering three names for the position of its next President. Dharmendra Pradhan, Bhupendra Yadav and Shivrajsinh Chouhan, all three Union ministers, are in the race. A source said Pradhan is leading in the race. The RSS seems to be favourable to his name with a rider that he should be given a complete freedom. “Pradhan recently lost his father. The way all bigwig BJP leaders visited him for condolences is an indication that he might be chosen for the coveted post,” the source said.

Comments

bottom of page