Editor,
The drubbing received by the BJP at the hands of All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) on May 2, last was in no uncertain terms a bolt from the blue as BJP had gone hammer and tongs in a campaign overdrive led by PM Modi himself and the Union Home Minister, besides a host of other Union Ministers and Chiefs Ministers of the BJP ruled states. In a word, it was carpet-bombing on a TMC ruled State marshalled by a heroic lady, Mamata Banerjee. BJP was seemingly at a vantage point with an unprecedented number of TMC leaders joining the BJP fold as Bengal was under the so-called Modi wave. The defectors were just like those subterranean creatures visualizing that a massive quake was imminent and thereby making them head for the hills where the BJP is positioned confidently. To add to the woes of the TMC, a good number of exit polls had predicted that the BJP would win hands down. And wonder of wonders it that even India Today news channel which often gives precise polls predictions concluded that the BJP could secure a majority. But at the end of the day, it was Mamata Banerjee who has had the last laugh at the utter demoralization of the rank and file of the BJP.
It bears recall that a parallel historical instance vis-à-vis BJP’s loss can be drawn from the epoch-making battle which occurred in 1863 when the massive Turkish army of nearly two lakhs with 40,000 Tartars attacked Vienna, the present-day capital of Austria, which was defended by a less than twenty thousand defenders. The Turks were led by Kara Mustafa who was hell-bent on capturing Vienna which he termed the Golden Apple and proposed to turn the magnificent Catholic Cathedrals of Vienna into mosques as the Turks had done to the exquisite Cathedral of Santa Sophia at Constantinople (now Istanbul). But on September 12, 1863, the dogged defenders of Vienna with the timely arrival of John Sobiesky, King of Poland, routed the Turks, decisively. Likewise, what the Golden Apple of Vienna was to Mustafa, West Bengal was Sonar Bangla for the BJP. I’m afraid that the defeat of the BJP in West Bengal portends the writing on the wall at the hustings of 2024 for the BJP.
Yours etc.
Jerome K. Diengdoh
Shillong- 2
MLAs/MDCs – help your people now
Editor,
The second onslaught of COVID-19 has taken a toll on the healthcare system and has caused illness and death of numerous families in the State of Meghalaya, particularly in East Khasi Hills District. This chaotic situation had been persistent for almost two months now starting from April. The government seems to be in a dilemma as to what steps to take in order to control the sudden surge.
A close examination of last year’s scenario reveals that this sudden and uncontrollable rise of infection in our state is because this year there is no home quarantine of the infected patients for reasons best known to the government. A large number of infected people as well as returnees from other states of India are kept on home quarantine without ensuring that whether their homes are suitable for home quarantine. It is a fact that the majority of our citizens live in a small houses comprising of 2/3 rooms with shared bathrooms. In most cases, 1-2 toilets are being used by 3-4 tenants living in the same premises. This being the case, the surge in Covid cases is not surprising at all. The Government now seems hard pressed to accommodate patients in their Corona Care Centres free of cost as was done the previous year. Those who use the Care Centres have to pay for their meals if not lodging. As such, the poor and underprivileged cannot afford to do so hence have to opt for home quarantine, irrespective of the consequences.
At this juncture, I would suggest that our elected representatives, i.e MLAs, MDCs should come forward to help the people of the state and the government at large. If every MLA/MDC of a particular constituency comprising all the localities under his/her jurisdiction was to establish one Corona Care Centre for the affected people of their constituency it would greatly help the poor. This could do away with the option of home quarantine, which is the super spreader of the deadly disease.
Secondly, if our MLAs/MDCs are really committed to help people at this stage and to ensure that everyone gets a square meal a day, they should pool their resources and enlist the support of the Dorbar Shnong in their constituencies to identify the poor and destitute and provide basic rations of rice, dal, sugar, oil etc., at least twice a week. This would go a long way in helping the poor in the entire state.
The above expenditure should be borne by MLAs/MDCs as they are paid salaries and perks and also enjoy annual discretionary grants from the government. This money is paid from the taxes of the common citizen. So I earnestly pray that their emotional and spiritual conscience are awakened so that for once they stand united by giving the much needed support to people at this crucial point. At the same time, this could be one of the practical ways of bringing down the Covid surge in our state.
The ball is in the court of our representatives. Will they, for once, rise above self interest and judiciously perform their roles as leaders who will lead the way in improving the lives of people at this hour when people need their help the most. The poor are in dire straits and in a dilemma whether to abide by the SOPs of the government to help break the Covid chain or to oppose the government for preventing them from earning their livelihoods. Here, I’m reminded of a famous saying by Swami Vivekananda, “Serving humanity is equal to serving God.”
Yours etc.,
Jenniefer Dkhar,
Via email