A line in a news report from yesterday caught my attention (emphasis mine):
The union minister was in Mumbai to pay obeisance to Lalbaugcha Raja Ganesha and later visited the official residences of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis to seek the blessings of Lord Ganesha.
What?!
In an interview last week Subramanian Swamy who, ensconced in the BJP tent, has been throwing lit matches around for fun, said that if he talked about why Amit Shah was made home minister, “there would be chaos”.
It’s not that difficult to guess that Shah owes his position to having been a loyal consigliere to Modi for the best part of three decades now, and has the keys to the cupboards where various skeletons are hidden.
Shah’s USP, and his value to Modi, was that he had no personal ambition other than being the PM’s enforcer-in-chief. Of late, that has changed – as Modi approaches his 75th year, Shah scents an opportunity to aim for the top job, and has been making his moves towards that end.
A war-footing attempt to neuter his main opponent, UP’s Adityanath, failed thanks to the RSS putting its foot down – but Shah still hasn’t given up the ghost on that.
In the interim, as various states go to polls, he continues to pack the candidates list with Opposition turncoats he coaxed or coerced into joining the BJP, his objective being to build a cadre of elected representatives at the Centre and in the states who owe their positions, and their loyalty, to him alone.
Shah’s personal project is taking a heavy toll on the party, as for instance in Haryana which votes on October 5 and where BJP leaders and cadres are quitting in droves, claiming with some justification that BJP loyalists are being ignored in favour of outsiders. Ironically, after the adverse results of the Lok Sabha elections, the induction of outsiders at the expense of the BJP faithful was underlined as one of the main causes for the debacle in UP – but Shah, once lauded for being the ideal party strategist who would do whatever it takes to win, has changed: self-interest now trumps party interests.
It's a double whammy: The party is missing its chief strategist, and the country is missing a home minister. On the day Shah flew down to Bombay to try and mend fences within the Mahayuti where Eknath Shinde, Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar are engaged in a no-holds-barred battle for supremacy, Manipur burned.
A day earlier, rockets were used — a first in the strife-torn state — in an attack on the home of the previous chief minister. A former military personnel was beaten to death – the 11th killing since September 1. And on the day Shah was visiting Ganesha who, apparently, now resides in the homes of Maharashtra’s chief minister and his deputy, two others were killed including a woman who was shot in the head; school students came out into the streets to attack a CRPF vehicle and force it to turn back, and militants attacked a CRPF camp.
A month earlier, the BJP’s own MLAs from the state had openly said the Centre’s indecisiveness has revived violence in the state. They were prescient; the Centre was deaf.
The last time Amit Shah, who as home minister is responsible for internal peace and security, turned his attention to Manipur was on June 17, when he reportedly chaired a “high level meeting” and told security and administration officials “to ensure that no further violence takes place.”
This was 411 days after civil war had broken out in the state. State chief minister N Biren Singh was not present at the meeting. 93 days have passed since Shah declared that the violence has to stop. It has only escalated – and the home minister has not been heard from since.
In summary, the country is now saddled with a home minister who is clearly incapable of controlling his own party, let alone the country. How much more of this can either party or country afford?
PS: Back from my travels and hope to be regular here, at least until the 23rd when I take off for a week. Thank you all for your patience.
Theek you for writing this Prem.
Manipur news is completely off my news timeline these days
Great to have you back Prem!