Cover Story : BHARAT SURAKSHA YATRA

An eye witness to Suraksha Yatra
From Our Special Correspondent

After completing his yatra in orissa and Chhattisgarh, Bharatiya Janata Party President Shri Rajnath Singh continued Bharatiya Janata Party’s Bharat Suraksha Yatra in Jharkhand State cutting right through the dangerous areas heavily infested by Naxalites. All along the route of his 150 kilometre Yatra through Jharkhand, Shri Singh was given a traditional welcome with aarti, kumkum, garlands and showers of flowers even in the sizzling temperatures of high noon. The roads which normally remain deserted, were spilling over with men and women eager to have a glimpse of their Nayak.

The festive atmosphere made one feel as though Diwali was being celebrated here after ages. After emerging from the valleys of Hazaribagh, when the Yatra reached Padmabasti, all the townsfolk came out in the streets to welcome it. Toran leaves adorned the gates erected by people in Rajnathji’s honour and their eyes shone with enthusiasm and rare joy. Padmabasti has been named after Maharaja Padma Singh and the Padma Fort is a well-known historical monument here. Even though Congress holds the legislative seat in this area, thousands of people lined the streets to receive Shri Rajnath Singh.

Earlier, the Bharat Suraksha Yatra had received an equally grand welcome in Hazaribagh and Ramgarh. There too, the citizens had showered flower petals on Rajnathji and cheered him. Senior BJP leader and former Union Minister Shri Yashwant Sinha was present to receive the National President.

Chatra District creates history

The sea of humanity which flooded the entire Chatra district to welcome and show solidarity with the Bharat Suraksha Yatra, gave an impression as if no other political party existed in that area. Everywhere thousands of people were shouting the same slogan “Rajnath Singh Zindabad”.

BJP karyakartas of Majhgaon, Karni, Karma, Ichak Mod, Etarkhori, Etarkhori Pitij, Unta and Chatra created political history. The huge welcome gates, tableaus, drums, fireworks, aarti and showers of flower petals continued for a distance of an unbelievable two kilometres! This amply demonstrated the fact that party karyakartas had made preparations thoroughly in advance.

The local villagers said that they lived in an area where the fear of death had become a part of their daily life. Though they had taken part in the festivities, their situation would remain unchanged. They would be called upon to answer for having been a part of this Yatra’s welcome. If they were lucky, they would live, otherwise they might be killed. The villagers said that they no longer had control over their lives, but knew that if Central Government, political leaders, social institutions and others really exerted, then the Naxalite menace could be finished off.

The elaborate welcome laid out for Shri Rajnath Singh in Majhgaon, Karma, Karni and Etarkhori belied the fact that all these areas were reeling under the Naxalite menace. So great was the people’s support for the Yatra that the number of stops exceeded the scheduled ones.

One thing was quite clear from the public response: those city reporters who label BJP as an urban party and keep tossing armchair leaders in the political share market, should visit these areas, if only to preserve the dignity of journalism, and witness the mass support for BJP.

A reporter in a national daily who openly claims to vote for Congress came along to report on the Yatra. He came seeking to write reports which could not be done from a distance. Later he said that his illusion was shattered because he realised that the Bharat Suraksha Yatra raised issues of the common man. The spontaneous enthusiasm created from synergy between party karyakartas and the people showed that they had new hopes from the party. The reporter confessed that if he hadn’t joined the Yatra, he would have never realised its real importance and impact. He blamed the media in Delhi for indulging in ‘calculated journalism’.

Media persons wrote pages after pages in the local and district level newspapers about the mass effect of this Yatra and the people’s empathy with it. BJP’s senior leadership too agreed that this has been a valuable opportunity to get back in touch with the real India once again. They felt that Delhi’s newspapers have become provincial in outlook by restricting themselves to areas surrounding the Capital. On the other hand, significant and relevant news was being reported outside Delhi.

The Yatra reached Dobahi on the border of Bihar and Jharkhand at midnight. Here BJP’s former Jharkhand Chief Minister Shri Babulal Marandi, State President Shri Yadunath Pandey and State minister Shri Ganesh Mishra bade an emotional farewell to the National President. At the same time, Bihar State President Shri Radhamohan Singh, Deputy Chief Minister Shri Sushil Modi, Organisation General Secretary Shri Harendraji, Yatra Pramukh Shri Giriraj Singh, senior ministers Shri Nandkishore Yadav and Shri Avinash Choubey were waiting in anticipation to welcome Shri Rajnath Singh into Bihar.

Enters Gaya

The date changed at midnight and so did the destination. Now the Yatra headed for Bihar. Gaya city was bedecked with BJP banners and flags. The spirits of party karyakartas were high and even at 1:30 in the night, more than a thousand people were present to hear the National President speak.

Shri Rajnath Singh was given the traditional welcome when he arrived on the dais. He promptly apologised to the patiently waiting audience for the unexpected delay of six hours, and went on to explain the objective and spirit behind Bharat Suraksha Yatra.

The next day on April 14, Patna was the destination towards which the Yatra headed. On arrival at the Memorial of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, the BJP National President paid his respects, garlanded the statue and reiterated his commitment to social harmony. It is worth noting that ever since its foundation, BJP had been celebrating April 14 as Harmony Day throughout the country.

The Yatra passed through Sherghati before reaching Aurangabad where Shri Singh addressed a massive crowd. Next on the map was Tehari and then Sasaram which has an important position in Bihar politics. From Sasaram, the next stop was Nokha where the 3-time MLA Shri Rameshwar Prasad Chaurasia gave a grand welcome to the National President. It may be recalled that Nokha was in the news during the last assembly elections because the dynamic BJP leader Shri Ravishankar Prasad was shot at and injured on the dais during Shri Pramod Mahajan’s speech.

Chhapra

Then the Yatra reached Hajipur to yet another colourful reception and continued on to Chhapra where a mammoth crowd braving the summer heat, packed to capacity the Municipal ground and was a testimonial to the immense popularity of former Union minister Shri Rajeev Pratap Rudy who hails from this area.

Here Shri Rajnath Singh had lunch with the karyakartas and immediately returned to his gruelling Yatra schedule. Everyone witnessed how the tireless BJP karyakartas stood at every single crossing proudly keeping the party flags and banners flying high. Apart from rich political dividends, this was proof of the fact that the party now has a solid presence even in those areas where it was not so strong earlier.

Siwan & Gopalganj

At one time Siwan and Gopalganj were places where campaigning was not easy. BJP karyakartas and the people of Siwan, where Shri Lalu Prasad Yadav encouraged Shahabuddin to become a synonym of terror, were full of joy on this wonderful occasion. The spirit and colours of BJP had pervaded the whole town. Today the man who terrorised this area is behind bars. The common man of Siwan must be commended for braving through those dark times.

Everyone was pleased to see the energised BJP karyakartas and revealed how Shahabuddin had during the past 15 years, treated the constituency like his personal fiefdom with the blessings of Shri Lalu Prasad Yadav. Due to his connection with criminals he was so much feared that even police treated him like a VIP. After the change of power, the effect was quite visible in Siwan because terror was dying its natural death.

Further on from Siwan, the constituency of Gopalganj had been a political centre for the past 15 years. It was a place where once the BJP was not even in a position to wage a struggle. Today the scenario has changed completely for the better. After many stopovers to meet the people, BJP National President reached the historic Gopalganj ground where a public meeting was organised late at night. At 11 pm Shri Rajnath aroused the crowd’s sentiments by thundering against UPA Government’s wrongdoings in their despicable policy of appeasement. He informed the people about all that the Congress-led Government was indulging in at the Centre.

The next day, on April 16, Shri Singh held discussions with reporters and left for election campaigning in West Bengal.

Then on 18th the Yatra reached the holy city of Varanasi which was decorated with BJP flags and banners in a joyful reception. All leading karyakartas had gone to each and every house to spread the message about this Yatra among the people. Varanasi was all decked up for its favourite leader Shri Rajnath Singh who belongs to the place which was once a part of Varanasi district. Mirzapur has been Shri Singh’s karmakshetra and he has been connected to Varanasi since childhood. The people of this city had fond memories of him and they also expressed pride at the political ascension of their favourite son.

On a pleasant evening in the historic grounds of Varanasi, Shri Rajnath Singh firmly declared that this ancient, holy city of Uttar Pradesh will not be allowed to become a centre for terrorists. He said that the attack on Sankatmochan Temple had left every citizen worried and the entire nation’s attention was turned towards UP which had always guided Indian politics.

He said that the citizens of Uttar Pradesh carry an onerous responsibility and in the coming days they will have to demonstrate the maturity of democracy. He pointed out that the there was greater onus on BJP karyakartas now, and expressed confidence in their ability to succeed in the trial by fire.

After meeting the media on April 19, Shri Rajnath Singh continued the Bharat Suraksha Yatra and left for Jaunpur and Mirzapur along with Yatra Prabhari Shri Vijay Goel.