Border disputes: Litmus test for the ‘Shah’ of BJP
July 26 border skirmish in Cachar district’s Lailapur area between the personnel of Assam and Mizoram police claimed six precious lives.
Following this deadly clash between the forces of same country left everyone shocked. Ironically leaders of Bharaitya Janata Party (BJP) especially the MP from Silchar Dr Rajdeep Roy was quick to train his gun on previous Congress government and late Congress leader Santosh Mohan Dev holding them responsible for this border dispute.
For the sake of a political statement, it can be agreed. At the same time, the BJP MP needs to brush up his memory a little bit. It’s true that the previous Congress governments in the Northeast didn’t take these border disputes seriously and today the common people are bearing the brunt.
However, at the same time, it also needs to be borne in mind that today BJP is ruling the entire Northeast either on its own by forging an alliance with regional outfits of this region.
How can we ignore that North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) — a conglomerate of many Northeastern regional outfits is the brainchild of Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
How can we ignore that Himanta himself is the chairman of NEDA and Mizo National Front (MNF)—the ruling party in Mizoram is one of the constituents of NEDA.
If these border disputes can’t be settled now, it will remain unsolved for decades to come.
The political acumen of Amit Shah will be tested this time. The Shah of BJP has proved his credentials in the electoral field and now he needs to display his administrative prowess.
By making him as Union home minister replacing the seasoned leader Rajnath Singh Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his confidence in his trusted lieutenant.
Winning an election, making a political strategy and taking administrative decisions are different ball game altogether. Shah will have to take the lead over here.
He will have to be more accessible and accommodative.
BJP is basking in glory following its electoral victories across the country.
At the same time, the saffron camp also needs to keep in mind that despite investing all its resources in West Bengal it lost to Mamata Banerjee who is now trying to become a challenger for Modi in 2024.
Assam-Mizoram border fiasco could have been averted had the state government taken this matter seriously. Prior to the bloodbath on July 26 Mizo incursions were taking place in South Hailakandi.
In fact, few areas at Dholai also witnessed a Mizo upsurge. The ultra jingoist Young Mizo Association (YMA) has got the tacit support of MNF because without the backing of their government how come they carry out such ghastly acts.
Probably the Union home minister was not briefed properly about the simmering tensions in Assam—Mizoram border areas falling under Cachar district.
Can the MP from Silchar Lok Sabha constituency wash his hands? Did he brief the chief minister about the Mizo incursions? Well, we don’t know the answers to these questions.
Banking on our common sense we can conclude that neither the chief minister nor the babus in Delhi Durbar were aware of such incidents.
They woke up from their deep slumber on July 26 when six jawans of IR battalion of Assam Police fell to the bullets of Mizoram police.
They started realizing the seriousness of this issue from July 26 onwards. Probably the Union home minister started asking questions to his officers post the Lailapur carnage.
A politician remains a politician only during his campaign trail. Post elections a politician’s role changes and he becomes an administrator.
In a democracy numbers are important, winning elections are indeed important — at the same time looking at the day-to-day affairs of the country is also equally important.
Sardar Patel showed his political acumen when India was an infant child. Late prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee showed his class by creating states like Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand without shedding a single drop of blood.
The present regime has huge respect for Sardar Patel and built the longest statue in his honour in Prime Minister Modi’s home turf — Gujarat.
The ruling masters need to take a leaf out of the books of both Sardar and Vajpayee—it will help them learn new ways to win the hearts of Indians.
