Back off from by-poll or get branded a Maoist’
12 September 2014, Raipur, Parakram Rautela
On Saturday, 13 September, by-elections will be held to the Antagarh assembly seat in Chhattisgarh’s Kanker district. Normally, this would not make headline news but of the 14 candidates who had originally filed their nominations for the seat, 11 have withdrawn their nominations and one candidate’s nomination was rejected.
The story has gripped the state, and it finally reached Delhi when a delegation from the Chhattisgarh Congress arrived at the capital, held a dharna at Jantar Mantar, and then submitted to the Election Commission that the by-election be scrapped. They alleged that the candidates had withdrawn their nominations because the state’s BJP government and the police had threatened to charge them with being Naxalites under the Public Safety Act if they did not do so.
Ambedkarite Party of India’s Roopdhar Pudo remains the lone non-BJP contestant still fighting the election – the frontrunner candidate is the BJP’s Bhojraj Nag. Pudo said he too had been offered money, a plum post, and threatened with being charged as a Naxalite to make him take back his nomination. And that the BJP is desperate to win this election because the result will be deciphered as a testimony on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s time in government.
Parakram Rautela spoke to Roopdhar Pudo, the lone non-BJP contestant still fighting the by-election in Kanker district, Chhattisgarh. Excerpts:
Do you stand a chance of winning?
We have invested a lot of effort in fighting this election and the people have responded well to us. Things are difficult for the BJP right now because of the ration card scam. I think it is obvious, to me, that we will win.
Why do you believe it is so important for you to contest these elections?
The right to ask for votes, to get into the state assembly or the Parliament is the very basis of our democracy. It’s not something that should be allowed to be taken away from me, or anybody else.
You have said that you were also asked to not contest the elections. Your exact words were: ‘I was also offered allurement and threatened but I remained firm in my resolve to contest.’ Could you please elaborate on exactly what that means?
I was called on the phone, and told to withdraw my nomination. In return I was offered a post in the municipal corporation. They said that if that was not enough, they would also be willing to offer me money.
Were you threatened that you would be charged with being a Naxalite under the Public Safety Act, as is being alleged was done with the other candidates?
Yes. After the offers of the post in the municipal corporation and the money, they said that if I did not take back my nomination, I would be charged with being a Naxalite. That they would make life difficult for me. This is not new, I have been threatened similarly in the past too.
The charge is used very often against the tribals, who are then made to spend a number of years in jail.
How common is this in Chhattisgarh? And why is it happening?
It’s common. It happens because making somebody spend a number of years in jail is also a very convenient way to take away his land. I believe that that is why these charges are foisted on the tribal people, it’s an easy way to move them off their land.
Was it the BJP that asked you not to contest?
Yes. They were BJP workers.
Why is it so important for the BJP to win this election?
This election is being fought in the names of prime minister Narendra Modi and chief minister Raman Singh. Votes are being asked for in their names. If the BJP loses, it will be very embarrassing for them.
Have any of the other former candidates spoken with you, offering details of why it was that they withdrew from the election?
No, they have not spoken to me, nor have I spoken to them. I can only repeat what has already appeared in the media. That Bhupesh Baghel, the president of the Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee, was to meet six Independents at the home of Pankaj Mahavar, secretary of the Congress in Dhamtri district. But Baghel was unable to meet the Independents because he was placed under virtual arrest at his hotel.
And that the police and local BJP workers then barged into Mahavar’s home at 3am and took away the Independents, who subsequently withdrew their nominations.
The reason I mention this is because, like I had said, I too have been threatened in this manner earlier. If that had not been the case, I would not have mentioned it.
With 12 candidates (out of a total of 14) dropping out of the race, do you believe the Election Commission should scrap this by-elections — as the Congress has asked — and call for new elections? No, if all the candidates had withdrawn their nominations and there was the possibility that somebody would be elected unopposed, then I can understand the election being called off. But so long as there are two people fighting, it’s still a contest.
Should you win, what are the issues that will be top of your agenda?
Tribal issues. Even so many years after independence, things are still difficult for tribal people. And there tends to be discrimination and exploitation of them. Should I win, they will be the issues that I will focus on. They will be top of my agenda.
12 September 2014, Raipur, Parakram Rautela
The story has gripped the state, and it finally reached Delhi when a delegation from the Chhattisgarh Congress arrived at the capital, held a dharna at Jantar Mantar, and then submitted to the Election Commission that the by-election be scrapped. They alleged that the candidates had withdrawn their nominations because the state’s BJP government and the police had threatened to charge them with being Naxalites under the Public Safety Act if they did not do so.Ambedkarite Party of India’s Roopdhar Pudo remains the lone non-BJP contestant still fighting the election – the frontrunner candidate is the BJP’s Bhojraj Nag. Pudo said he too had been offered money, a plum post, and threatened with being charged as a Naxalite to make him take back his nomination. And that the BJP is desperate to win this election because the result will be deciphered as a testimony on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s time in government.
Parakram Rautela spoke to Roopdhar Pudo, the lone non-BJP contestant still fighting the by-election in Kanker district, Chhattisgarh. Excerpts:
Do you stand a chance of winning?
We have invested a lot of effort in fighting this election and the people have responded well to us. Things are difficult for the BJP right now because of the ration card scam. I think it is obvious, to me, that we will win.
Why do you believe it is so important for you to contest these elections?
The right to ask for votes, to get into the state assembly or the Parliament is the very basis of our democracy. It’s not something that should be allowed to be taken away from me, or anybody else.
You have said that you were also asked to not contest the elections. Your exact words were: ‘I was also offered allurement and threatened but I remained firm in my resolve to contest.’ Could you please elaborate on exactly what that means?
I was called on the phone, and told to withdraw my nomination. In return I was offered a post in the municipal corporation. They said that if that was not enough, they would also be willing to offer me money.
Were you threatened that you would be charged with being a Naxalite under the Public Safety Act, as is being alleged was done with the other candidates?
Yes. After the offers of the post in the municipal corporation and the money, they said that if I did not take back my nomination, I would be charged with being a Naxalite. That they would make life difficult for me. This is not new, I have been threatened similarly in the past too.
The charge is used very often against the tribals, who are then made to spend a number of years in jail.
How common is this in Chhattisgarh? And why is it happening?
It’s common. It happens because making somebody spend a number of years in jail is also a very convenient way to take away his land. I believe that that is why these charges are foisted on the tribal people, it’s an easy way to move them off their land.
Was it the BJP that asked you not to contest?
Yes. They were BJP workers.
Why is it so important for the BJP to win this election?
This election is being fought in the names of prime minister Narendra Modi and chief minister Raman Singh. Votes are being asked for in their names. If the BJP loses, it will be very embarrassing for them.
Have any of the other former candidates spoken with you, offering details of why it was that they withdrew from the election?
No, they have not spoken to me, nor have I spoken to them. I can only repeat what has already appeared in the media. That Bhupesh Baghel, the president of the Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee, was to meet six Independents at the home of Pankaj Mahavar, secretary of the Congress in Dhamtri district. But Baghel was unable to meet the Independents because he was placed under virtual arrest at his hotel.
And that the police and local BJP workers then barged into Mahavar’s home at 3am and took away the Independents, who subsequently withdrew their nominations.
The reason I mention this is because, like I had said, I too have been threatened in this manner earlier. If that had not been the case, I would not have mentioned it.
With 12 candidates (out of a total of 14) dropping out of the race, do you believe the Election Commission should scrap this by-elections — as the Congress has asked — and call for new elections? No, if all the candidates had withdrawn their nominations and there was the possibility that somebody would be elected unopposed, then I can understand the election being called off. But so long as there are two people fighting, it’s still a contest.
Should you win, what are the issues that will be top of your agenda?
Tribal issues. Even so many years after independence, things are still difficult for tribal people. And there tends to be discrimination and exploitation of them. Should I win, they will be the issues that I will focus on. They will be top of my agenda.
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