By Patricia Mukhim
It is not easy to be in politics; it is even more challenging to be holding the Home Portfolio in a state afflicted by militant activities. When Ms Roshan Warjri picked up the gauntlet we cheered her for two reasons. First, she is the first woman Home Minister of Meghalaya and perhaps in the country. This is a public endorsement that in matrilineal Meghalaya women can be trusted to deliver, no matter how tough the call. Secondly, Ms Warjri has steered clear of corruption in her public life. Many also believed that Warjri would take a nuanced look at the complex security scenario and give it the direction it required at the time. But the security situation took a turn for the worse with policemen (the smaller fries) falling like ninepins at the hands of militants’ bullets. Ms Warjri took personal responsibility for the deaths and resigned as Home Minister on principle. Her resignation from the Home Minister’s post also became a first in Meghalaya where politicians are used to sticking on to their chairs like limpets. Many even stage coups to hang on by hook or crook.
Even the media which should know better took Ms Warjri’s resignation at face value. But underneath the niceties of politics it appears that Roshan Warjri had her own set of grievances. She apparently knew nothing of the FIR filed against her ministerial colleague, Deborah Marak for allegedly using the militant outfit, GNLA, to win the last assembly elections. The person kept in the loop as far as this issue was concerned was the Chief Minister, Mukul Sangma. It was the CM who took the lead in working out the modalities for signing the MOA with the ANVC(B). He also took personal interest in the security situation of Garo Hills and issued statements from time to time against the GNLA which became his beta-noire. They too made it look like they were fighting a personal battle against Sangma. In this battle of nerves, Ms Warjri looked like a foreigner abroad. One cannot blame her for there is a history to militancy in Garo Hills. She got caught in the crossfire.
It is my personal perception that politicians from Garo Hills are more astute and go-getters than our political actors from the Khasi-Jaintia Hills. In Garo Hills politicians believe they fight to win and winning is important once they are in the fray. Hence, they use every trick of the trade to win elections; using militants to achieve that end is one of those. The reason why the HNLC could be neutralised by the state police is because (a) beyond a point they had no political patronage from the politicians of Khasi and Jaintia Hills (b) politicians use money to buy votes but steer clear of using force and coercion and have carefully weighed the pitfalls of raising up Frankensteins who end up attacking their masters in the long run. No Khasi-Jaintia politician has ever raised the issue of having talks with the HNLC. Not even Roshan Warjri as Home Minister ever spoke about talks with the Khasi militant outfit. It has always been Chief Minister, Mukul Sangma who has dangled a bait for the HNLC to bite into. Those who keep track of news would not fail to notice that there were more comments on the security scenario from the Chief Minister than from the Home Minister. It was as if she has ceded her space to the CM. He could as well have been holding the Home Portfolio himself! Indeed, Dr Mukul has often been charged with backseat driving many other departments as well.
But why does he do so? Is it because he is surrounded by a bunch of incompetent cabinet colleagues or because they are slow on the delivery front? I have seen how ministers speak to Dr Mukul. The CM is only the first among equals. But their manner of addressing him is akin to that of subordinates addressing a boss, even while the CM listens condescendingly to what they have to say. Body language is a great indicator of a person’s attitude. Over the years one has learnt to read the body language of people in different positions and holding different assignments. It does not take long to read the body language of a person who allows power to ooze out of every pore of his body. There is ample scientific research which suggests that when a person gets even a modicum of power, it will affect how their brain works and will reduce their ability to have empathy. Dr Mukul certainly lacks empathy. But here too he cannot be blamed because those who excel in most things don’t usually understand why others cannot achieve similar feats. No wonder Dr Mukul has little patience with people who are not on the same page as himself.
People might wonder if this article is about the HM or the CM. But they should be able to see what I am driving at. When it comes to playing mind games it is difficult to beat Dr Mukul. He has played strategic mind games in the Home Department and made Roshan Warjri look like a lame duck Home Minister. This was obvious to every political observer. But was Warjri a deliberate choice since it might have been difficult to play his moves if someone else was Home Minister? This is a tough question that neither Ms Warjri not Dr Mukul will give a straight answer to. But we can safely guess what the answer is.
Right from his first tenure as Chief Minister, Dr Mukul had been able to impress his audience with the range of knowledge he has on a number of issues and on his fingertips. Certainly he is a knowledgeable man and does his home work. He has, over the years also developed an appropriate set of vocabulary with which to wow international, national and local audiences. For a long time we in Meghalaya have been used to slap-dash rhetoric from former CMs. Mukul Sangma sounded like a breath of fresh air. The only other person who could get his audience’s rapt attention was PA Sangma. He had a repertoire of wit and humour, fact and fiction that he cleverly wove into his speeches. But of late Dr Mukul has become predictable and uses set phrases. Maybe he is carrying a lot on his shoulders and his thoughts are not free flowing. It is jarring to have someone haranguing you consistently about your scheduled tribe status. No wonder when Dr Mukul breaks into a song his favourite one is, “I want to break free.”
Dr Mukul’s cabinet colleagues have often complained about his propensity to interfere in the departments of his cabinet colleagues. But can we blame the CM when every single time he has had to stand up in the Assembly to defend his colleagues and save them from the supplementaries thrown at them by the Opposition? And yet team work is integral in politics. The CM cannot be a back seat driver for all departments. He has to allow his colleagues the concession to plod steadily and even to make mistakes, for they will only learn from those mistakes. I wonder if Ms Roshan Warjri was allowed that concession. I guess not! Which is why she resigned in frustration!
So the question to Ms Warjri is whether Dr Mukul has agreed to give up the habit of second guessing her every move and to give unsolicited advice. If she does not have the bandwidth to handle the Home Department would it not have been more appropriate for her to say so? After all maintaining law and order and the security of citizens is not every politician’s cup of tea. Some ministers want the Home portfolio only so they can make money out of the deals in the Department or for pushing their political acolytes into the police force. Ms Warjri has done none of that! Hence she owes no one anything and should not have reneged from her stance of resigning as Home Minister. Her explanation that the AICC in Charge, Meghalaya Mr Narayanswamy has requested her to withdraw her resignation sounds banal.
I anticipate a lot of debate in these columns in the next few weeks about the flip-flop stance of the lady Home Minister!