JOIN USSex, lies, blackmail
The Bhanwari Devi sex scandal involving two senior leaders of the Congress has come as a major embarrassment to the party’s three-year-old government in Rajasthan. It is for the first time such a sleazy scandal involving a minister has been reported in the history of the desert state.
Bhanwari Devi, a nurse and trained midwife, went missing on September 1 this year after reports that she had a CD showing her in a compromising position with a senior Rajasthan minister Mahipal Maderna, became the talk of the town in Jodhpur. Bhanwari’s husband Amarchand alleged that she was abducted at the behest of the minister.
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot was quick to find a safe way out by handing over the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
“Since a cabinet rank minister’s name has cropped up in the case, it is appropriate that an inquiry by an independent body is conducted rather, than by the state police, for an impartial investigation,” said Gehlot, ordering the probe. However, the timing of the announcement has surprised many and the Madernas are crying foul.
The state government’s announcement came on a day after the Gopalgarh police firing incident which killed 10 Meo Muslims, a prominent Muslim Rajput tribe, in Bharatpur district on September 19. This lent ammunition to Maderna supporters to accuse the government of indulging in diversionary tactics. Maderna’s family was quick to allege that he is “a victim of political conspiracy” and denied any involvement.
But, when videos of the sleaze CD were flashed on local television channels, the Madernas were put on the back foot. The Chief Minister persuaded Maderna to resign on moral grounds and even promised to re-induct him if he was proved innocent. But, the minister was not in a mood to oblige. Finally, he was sacked and suspended from the Congress party.
On the back foot
Gehlot, however, with the CBI investigation has killed many birds with one stroke. On the one hand, it has blunted the opposition charge of protecting the minister, while on the other if Maderna is found guilty, he (Gehlot) would not be accused of implicating him as both are seen as political rivals in the Marwar region. Besides, he had to placate the Dalit constituency by seemingly recommending strong action as Bhanwari belonged to that community, a strong Congress vote bank. The Congress has reasons to worry. Mahipal Maderna was the Jat face, a prominent OBC caste, in the Gehlot cabinet. Though Mahipal was a low profile, light weight politician, he was seen by the Jats as counter weight to Gehlot. After the exit of Maderna, the Congress is left with no known face in the Congress to attract the Jat voters. It is not that Congress is bereft of Jat leaders. The present Pradesh Congress Committee president Dr Chandraban is a Jat, but he is being viewed as a stooge of Gehlot, which cost him dearly in the elections. He was defeated twice in successive assembly elections from the Jat heartland of Jhunjhunu district, an indication of Jat antagonism towards Gehlot.
Jats constitute about 14 per cent of the population, a major vote bank. “The Jats do not trust Gehlot even now after Parasram Maderna, Mahipal’s father, was outwitted by Gehlot in the 1998 elections for the post of Chief minister,” said a Congress leader on condition of anonymity.
The enmity is now etched in history. The Congress had promised a Jat chief minister in the 1998 assembly elections and Parasram was projected as the possible candidate. But, when the results were out, the Congress which registered a thumping victory with two third majority, opted for Gehlot, who was the then PCC president. This antagonised the Jats and they see Gehlot as a ‘traitor’ to the community.
Moral dilemma
Though the Congress has been quick to act against Mahipal Maderna and party legislator Malkhan Singh, who allegedly introduced Maderna to Bhanwari - by suspending the duo from the primary membership of the party, the party is not willing to axe them from the Congress Legislature Party (CLP). Removal from CLP would lead to automatic disqualification of the MLAs from the Assembly.
Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly and ex-parliamentary affairs and law minister Ghanshyam Tiwari, dared the ruling party to also remove the two MLAs from its legislature party. “The Congress cannot dare to remove them from the legislature party, as that will bring down its numbers in the assembly and reduce the government to minority,” he maintained.
Though the clamour for their removal from the Assembly may be rising, the Congress cannot afford to act against the two MLAs from Marwar. The party is working with a wafer-thin majority in the Assembly. Its survival depends on MLAs who won as independent candidates and on BSP tickets in the election.
Only 96 members had entered the Assembly after winning on Congress tickets, so losing two of them could lead to several problems for the party. Moreover, the Congress is scared of facing by-elections that may follow the removal of Malkhan and Maderna. The Congress fears that its popularity graph has slumped and loss in the by-elections may further hurt the government’s morale and performance.
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