It is an era of troubled times for the Indian democracy. The society has become irreparably polarised. There is flourishing crony capitalism, lynchings, online trolling, assault on institutions of higher education, and worst of all, the use of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Enforcement Directorate (ED) and other administrative tools to subdue opponents. Here lies the relevance of politicians like Lalu Prasad Yadav. Since the beginning of his career, he has never compromised with communal forces led by the RSS and its multiple outfits.
His son Tejashwi Yadav had said on many occasions, “If my father had joined hands with the BJP, he would be Raja Harishchandra for them.” One may discard his statement because he is Lalu’s son, but looking at the way Indian politics works, there is no denial that the central governments have routinely favoured collaborating with regional leaders.
Lalu Prasad, now jailed in a multi-crore animal husbandry scam, has also been framed in the IRCTC scam.
When the long-running feud between CBI bosses Alok Verma and Rakesh Asthana came out in the public, it showed that Asthana had been let loose behind Lalu Prasad. Now Asthana is himself implicated in bribery allegations, and an FIR was lodged against him by the CBI itself.
In a tweet, Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s view is worth citing, “The PM’s blue-eyed boy, Gujarat cadre officer, of Godhra SIT fame, infiltrated as No. 2 into the CBI, has now been caught taking bribes. Under this PM, the CBI is a weapon of political vendetta. An institution in terminal decline that’s at war with itself (sic).”
Back in 2013, the Supreme Court had made a shocking observation that the CBI “was a caged parrot speaking in its master’s voice.”
The mainstream media, too, has played an important role in creating a negative image of Lalu Prasad.
For example, the media has routinely portrayed the Deoghar District Treasury case as the ‘fodder scam’ or chara ghotala. An insensitive term that relates to Lalu’s caste Gwala implies that he ate all the fodder.
However, Lalu Prasad is not the media’s only victim. It is almost the same case with all leaders belonging to oppressed castes who are raising their voices against the status-quo of the eternal caste hegemony prevalent in the Indian society.
A leader like Lalu Prasad, who has fiercely guarded the ethos of Indian democracy and worked uncompromisingly to keep the social-bond of the masses intact, certainly deserves better treatment. Today, a wave of fear is blowing in our country as people are helpless in their struggle for justice. This was seen in the case of farmers’ protest, Dalit protests, farmers’ march in Mumbai, protests against lynching of Muslims, etc.
We hope that Lalu recovers from ailments and resumes his crusade. Over time, people will surely understand the whole game and return the good name he rightfully deserves.
(The author is a PhD scholar from the Centre for Comparative Literature, University of Hyderabad. All 'My Report' branded stories are submitted by citizen journalists to The Quint. Though The Quint inquires into the claims/allegations from all parties before publishing, the report and the views expressed above are the citizen journalist's own. The Quint neither endorses, nor is responsible for the same.)
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