It’s more than a month when people of Chhattisgarh and its political fraternity was shaken up by a deadly ambush at convoy of India’s ruling Congress, in a jungle pocket in restive Bastar region, which wiped out several Congress heavyweights in Chhattisgarh.
The State is yet to recover from May 25 ambush that claimed life of 30 people, including State Congress chief Nand Kumar Patel, architect of Salwa Judum Movement Mahendra Karma and nine-time Congress MP and former Union Minister VC Shukla.
The stunned BJP regime in Chhattisgarh had found in complete isolation when the news about the killings of Congress leaders broke out. At that time Chief Minister Raman Singh was at Arang in Raipur district as part of his ongoing 6,000-km long Vikas Yatra. The State Government all of sudden found amidst severe criticism and public anger for alleged security let up at Congress Parivartan Yatra.
Chief Minister Raman Singh and his coterie had never thought of facing such a widespread criticism across the country for genocide of Congress icons in the State by leftist militants. Even a threat of imposition of President’s Rule was very much in sight but then a small team of long-time trusted officers of the Chief Minister showed the real calibre and potential and proved how good and sensible governance can make difference.
The ayurvedic doctor-turned politician Raman Singh literally broke down when he first heard the news about Darbha Valley attack and its high-profile casualties. He put off its politically mandatory Vikas Yatra and reached Raipur around 8.45 pm on May 25 and held an emergency meeting with senior officers at 9 pm and then briefed the Prime Minister and Governor of Chhattisgarh about the situation. Then the grieved Chief Minister convened a Cabinet meeting around 10 pm that ended at midnight.
Raman Singh and his key officials didn’t sleep for several days and nights as they were put under Himalayan task to prove mettle and pull the Government out of ‘nervous phase’ on the basis of a genuine display of good governance.
The Chief Minster and his officials worked non-stop on the night of May 25 and made arrangements for air ambulance in Delhi to airlift VC Shukla from Raipur to Delhi and 11 injured people from Bastar to Raipur for advanced medical treatment.
Singh held another meet with his officers around 1 am on May 25 night and visited a private hospital in Raipur at 3.30 am to see Shukla and other injured people. He held another round of meeting with officials at 5 am on May 26 and two hours later, he visited a Government hospital at Jagdalpur, headquarters of Bastar regions, which is 300 km from capital Raipur where he met injured people and paid his last respects to Mahendra Karma and other martyred.
The CM had witnessed one of the toughest spells of his life in post-May 25 attack as he returned to Raipur airport at 11.10 am directly from Jagdalpur to receive Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi a day after the attack. The CM held meeting with the PM at Raj Bhawan at 12 noon and at around 1 pm, he paid last respects to Congress State chief Patel and his son at Raipur airport and then visited to Patel’s house in Raipur at 2 pm.
Singh had another meet with his officials at 5.30 pm on May 26 followed by a Cabinet meet at 6.30 pm. The non-stop schedule of Chief Minister went on for several days and Singh was looking quite nervous about image of his Government as the BJP regime had not committed any blunder since December 2003 when saffron regime came to power for the first time in the State.
The Chief Minister sustained the toughest and nerve-shattering phase of his Government because of a committed team of officials who were always around him. Even his Public Relations Department Secretary Aman Kumar Singh who was with the Chief Minister every moment after May 25 attack, persuaded Raman Singh to face media, mainly the bigger channels, who rushed to Raipur from all over the country to grill BJP Government on the incident. Aman Singh personally handled the whole situation.
State’s intellectuals and even several IAS and IPS officers were itching to know how Raman Singh would face media but the CM defused media outrage in one stroke when he admitted ‘security lapses’ and ordered judicial inquiry by a sitting judge of High Court. He even placed SP of Bastar under suspension and shifted out Bastar’s Inspector General of Police and Bastar collector that convinced people that Raman Singh can’t be held accountable directly as he can’t hold gun in his hand to defend politicians of the State from Maoist attacks.
After more than one month of that cowardice Maoist attack, the anger against Raman Singh Government has fully receded in public and now he gets ready to resume Vikas Yatra from August.
Even at the Internal Security Meet convened by the Union Home Ministry and inaugurated by the Prime Minister on June 5 in New Delhi, in backdrop of May 25 attack, all participant
Chief Ministers hailed the presentation of Raman Singh titled ‘Response of the Government of Chhattisgarh’ in which he unfolded the efforts of his Government in post-May 25 attack.
The Congress-led Government at the Centre and Chief Ministers of Bihar and Gujarat and other States were on the same page and had all appreciation at the Internal Security Meet regarding approach of Chhattisgarh Government to the tragedy.
A senior Congress leader in Chhattisgarh summed up the whole episode, “people in Chhattisgarh have now exonerated BJP Government from May 25 attack stigma and you can give the credit to governance wonder in the State and its sensitive approach towards the whole issue till date, the other States can learn from Chhattisgarh how to counter sudden massive crisis”.
He cited a recent example of Congress-ruled Uttarakhand where governance was exposed after it was hit by flash flood.
In Chhattisgarh when killing took place, the State Government put a ban on publishing advertisements while the flood-ravaged Uttarakhand Government put out advertisements with smiling pictures of Sonia Gandhi and other leaders about its efforts to handle the tragedy, it shows the real difference in style of governance.