When the polity is afflicted with the far lesser mortals with
elephantine egos; when the frenzy surrounding the men in power is
increasingly showing a maddening courting, as it becomes apparent
during the election when, for seeking the tickets of the national
parties like BJP or Congress, the phenomenal lobbying reaches its
cresdendo, in such terrible times, a man has risen on the political
firmament of India to dispel any such notion that hirtherto has been
overwhelmingly predominant: the license to victory at the hustings is
only reserved for national party. In such backdrop, a flag bearer of
truth and honesty whose simple credentials and credibility lay in
upholding public morality, never in the least forgetting his sacred
responsibility lay in upholding the public trust as their servant, and
never contemplating even remotely, as their master, Mr Saryu Roy’s
zeal to serve the people has been simply legendary. No wonder then
today the stature that he has attained in the wake of defeating the
sitting chief minister and contribting to the puncturing of the hubris
of the BJP leaders who, sititng in the glass house, presumed
everything was well till the severe jolt awakened them to the harsh
reality: the people of Jharkhand had decided to cast their lot with
the opposition alliance in the wake of their total disillusionment
with the chief minister and his government. But then it was none then
the man who, like Chankaya, was humiliated by the Ghananada like
arrogance by Raghubar Das, who thought that denial of ticket to his
dssident colleague, might ensure a smooth sailing for him and,
thereby, his return to power was a fait accompli.
Alas, Ghananada would have realised that insulting and openly humiliating Chanakya in the open court, would lead to the extinction of his whole clan.
Raghubar, enammoured of power and intoxicated by the illusion of his
own invincibility, has begun to look upon himself as no less than
Modi. In fact, he began to feel that he was as indispensable for
Jharkhand as Narendra Modi is for India. Small wonder then the massive
defeat of chief minister at the hustings and that of the BJP should be
an eye opener for the governing party at the centre. The lesson to be
learnt from this whole fisaco is this: every single member of the
party is as important as the chief minister himself, much like every
monkey whose contribution led to the building of the bridge on to
Lanka. Unfortunately, with Raghubar Das being presumptuous of the
collective leadership and conjuring up the belief that his
invincibility was divinely decreed, the central leadership, rather in
cheeerleading pattern, did nothing to dispel his colossal misgivings.
The consequence as it ought to be was simply disastrous for BJP both
at the state level as well as at the national level too.
The triumph of Mr Saryu Roy has been simply historic. It was a man
fighting for salvaging his prestige without adequate support. He was
avenging not only his personal humiliation of being denied the ticket
after being kept on the waiting list for several days together.
Unequivocally then, the humiliation that the chief minister thought
that he was making to an individual, invariably was construed and
imputed as the scorn heaped on the people of Jharkhand, for Mr Saryu
Roy had spent all these years fighting for the people of Jharkhand and
Bihar, without least being concerned that the fight that he was waging
targeted his friend Laloo Yadav, his comrade during J.P. Movement. His
fight was, doubtless, against the corruption at the high place. Later,
his uncompromising, yet relentless fight continued against Madhu Khoda
who, too, intoxicated by power, went gung ho to plunder the public
exchequer. No wonder then, he too, fell casualty to Roy Sahab’s
unrelenting vigilance to insulate the public resources from the prying
politician’s lecherous eyes. Later, the most corrupt chief secretary
of Jharkhand, Rajbalal Verma too came under the scanner of Roy Sahab.
Unfortuantely, while Verma had the blessings of the chief minister, Mr
Roy vehemently protested against her omissions and commissions and
consequently stymied her extension that the chief minister was so
enthusiastic to grant.
The victory of Saryu Roy, apart from being historic, has all the
ingredients of catapulting him to the national level. He emerges as
some sort of national icon, for the politics which, by and large has
been presumed to be the bastion of the infidels and crooks, now,
after this exhibition of heroism by Roy Sahab, will surely inspire the
youth of the country that everythig lost as yet, still there is a flag
bearer of truth and honesty in the midst of the extremity of venality
and insipidity that envelops politics from all sides. No wonder then
in Saryu Roy India has discovered a valiant and relentless fighter who
has never learnt to capitulate before the high and mighty. Which path
Saryu Roy will take in the future is still shrouded in
mystery–whether he will once again be a part of BJP, or shall remain
independent–yet he has shown to the nation that humiliation should be
avenged and not be taken in positive stride presuming it to be the
prerogative of the top leadership to hand down such punishment to the
leaders at the state level. Significantly, by revolting against the
top leadership of the party, and throwing the challenge at his own
chief minister and then vanquishing him at the hustings, makes him a
legend for the nation. Hence in this backdrop, it would be hardly an
overstatement to suggest that while Mr Narendra Modi was the legend of
2014 and 2019, Saryu Roy too joins that coveted league as the another
legend who shows the resplendent path of new dawn to the millions of
the youth of this country who have been desperately searching for
someone who can be their hero in the field of politics in the midst of
an enveloping credibility crisis.
Vivekanand Jha
Author and a Public Intellectual.
