Sandhya Jain

At the same time, if one of the ills facing the BJP is the excessive concern of its geriatric leadership with its own position, an equally serious problem is that this sickness can also be detected in a younger generation of leaders in some States where the party is in opposition. Having got control of the State party apparatus as a result of patronage from central leaders, these men are reluctant to build the party at grassroots level by taking up issues of popular concern.

To cite but one instance, Patna has for the past one month been rocked by the scandal of the daylight abduction of a beautiful married woman by a notorious gangster, Sultan Mia. The news magazine which broke the story stated that she had been forcefully married in a mosque in the Mainpura locality (subsequently denied by the Imam of the said mosque in a deposition before the National Commission for Women). The catch is that the lady, Ms Kanchan Misra, is legally married to another man, whom she has not divorced. Her mother and brother have deposed before the NCW that, in the weeks before the abduction, she feared for her life and that of her family.

One of the scandalous aspects of this sordid story was that the supposed 'nikah' was blessed by RJD Minister Ejazul Haq, who hosted a reception party that was attended by the officer-in-charge of the local police station, among others. A senior police official confirmed to the NCW that a party had been held after the wedding. What emerged from the Commission's investigations is that police and Administration alike are unwilling to get involved in the case, as Sultan Mia is a protégé of the infamous RJD MP from Siwan, Mohammed Shahabuddin.

Despite a strong NCW directive to arrest and prosecute Sultan Mia and produce Ms Kanchan Misra before the Commission within a fortnight, the lady remained in illegal custody at the time of writing this piece.

Most national dailies have steered clear of the controversy out of sensitivity for the feelings of Chief Minister Rabri Devi and RJD supremo Laloo Yadav, MP, who was never once questioned by the media about restoring the woman to her lawful family throughout the recent winter session of Parliament!

But what takes the cake is the behaviour of the State BJP leadership, which acts as if issues of abduction, rape, and law and order, are routine hazards of life, against which they cannot be expected to stir themselves! With leaders like this, neither Ram nor Modi can save the party.