M A I N   N E W S

Chautala’s shadow on west UP
‘Aaj ka Mahatma...’ slogan may prove costly
L.H. Naqvi

Aligarh, February 13
A US firm has taken the contract to protect Mahatma Gandhi as a brand name. In constituencies in western U.P., where the Indian National Lok Dal has put up candidates the most popular slogan is the one that describes the Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala as “Chautala ek andhi hai Aaj ka Mahatma Gandhi hai”.

It will be interesting to see how the U.S. firm CMG Worldwide deals with such a complaint. It has been given the contract by the Mahatma’s great-grandson, Tushar Gandhi, to protect the name, image and the message of Bapu. The details of the contract are unclear but there is no denying the fact that the firm delivers and delivers very fast. The firm has already helped Tushar Gandhi earn $ 60,000 from an ad agency that wants to use the Mahatma’s image for promoting a product. $ 60,000 would roughly translate into approximately Rs 75 lakh. And that would be chicken feed considering Mr Chautala’s resourcefulness in raising amounts that could even pay a king’s ransom. Of course the Haryana leader makes every paisa count. His supporters say he would be willing to pay 10 times the amount Tushar Gandhi has reportedly earned through the US firm for commercial use of the Mahatma’s name. But why? For earning the exclusive right to be indeed called “Aaj ka Mahatma Gandhi”. Be that as it may the Haryana Chief Minister has indeed made the electoral battle interesting. And that is clear from the sullen look on the face of his Jat soulmate and political rival, Mr Ajit Singh of the Rashtriya Lok Dal. The demand for merging western U.P. with Haryana for making a Maha Jat land is not new. Mr Ajit Singh, too, was working for it. But the Haryana Chief Minister sprung a surprise on him by making the demand for the creation of what would be called Harit Pradesh, a poll issue.

The sealing of the border between U.P. and Haryana by the Election Commission has not stopped Mr Chautala’s supporters from smuggling in money and men — and that too armed — from reaching the constituencies where INLD candidates are in the fray. The decision of the supreme leaders of the kisans in western UP. Mr Mahendra Singh Tikait to remain neutral has added to Mr Ajit Singh’s woes. Chaudhary Charan Singh’s name is still taken with respect in U.P. and Haryana. And Mr Ajit Singh was recognised as the heir, to the legacy of this great kisan leader. But his habit of changing political horses once too often has been his undoing.

Whether the victory of a few INLD candidates would mark the beginning of the creation of a larger Jatland is not clear. But the road-side reaction to such a proposal is not very encouraging. Muni Singh, a tea-shop owner, counted at least 10 instances of girls and the boys they wanted to marry being killed, because these alliances would have violated the oppressive social code of conduct and family honour of the Jats. He felt that a greater Jatland would result in increased atrocities against women. And mind you Muni Singh himself is a Jat proud of the positive attributes of his community. Mr Chautala’s foray into the electoral battle in U.P. may have triggered a premature debate on the pros and cons of Mahaharyana, but an early debate is not known to have done any harm to an issue. But to be forewarned is to be forearmed.