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A contest for honour

It is a test of the people of Nagpur/Maharashtra’s commitment to a brave officer that will be displayed in the level of support ~ financial or otherwise ~ that they extend to Deshmukh’s electoral essay.

A contest for honour

Votes will hardly matter for Deshmukh in the long run: what will count is the extent to which the public will show their support to a genuine martyr. (Image: Facebook/@riaz.deshmukh)

Chances are indeed slim that Riyaz Deshmukh, a former Assistant Commissioner of the Maharashtra Police, will soon be addressed as an Hon’ble MP representing Bhopal in the Lok Sabha.

Yet it is truly a matter of considerable personal honour that he has taken the arduous and expensive plunge into electoral politics primarily to uphold the professional reputation of a former superior whose image has recently been sullied by the BJP’s candidate for that high-profile election, Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur.

She had publicly demeaned his superior, the late Hemant Kakare, who was killed fighting terrorism on the streets of Mumbai during the infamous raid on 26/11.

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Despite severe criticism from several quarters, the Sadhvi ~ now on bail in the Malegaon bomb-blast case for which a squad led by Karkare had prosecuted her ~ has not retracted her comment that the former head of the Anti-Terror Squad had died after she had “cursed” him.

In fact the BJP leadership has tried to explain away her ugly outburst as a result of her allegedly being tortured in custody, and contended that she was being fielded to counter the theory of “Hindu Terror”.

Who coined that term is unclear, one view is that it was first used by an official who went on to become a minister in the NDA government. Deshmukh’s take is uncomplicated. “I have decided to contest against Pragya Thakur because I cannot tolerate anyone demeaning or saying insulting things about one of the finest and most upright officers of the police.”

It is a test of the people of Nagpur/Maharashtra’s commitment to a brave officer that will be displayed in the level of support ~ financial or otherwise ~ that they extend to Deshmukh’s electoral essay. For political reasons, all the major parties will back their own nominees, including the Congress’ former chief minister, Digvijaya Singh.

Votes will hardly matter for Deshmukh in the long run: what will count is the extent to which the public will show their support to a genuine martyr. The security forces have been hailed as heroes at Pulwama, Balakot etc ~ what about those who tackled the terrorists who sailed into the heart of Mumbai to wreak havoc in the financial capital?

In the normal course it might have been worth asking the owners/management of the two luxury hotels attacked that dastardly evening to contribute to Deshmukh’s campaign, but to do so now would be tricky since it would seem to be disfavouring the new “poster girl” of Hindutva.

Meanwhile, 71 retired civil servants have said that the Prime Minister “cannot escape the irony of his party seeking votes in the name of fighting terrorism and at the same time endorsing the candidature of a person accused of terror crimes.” That exemplifies the hypocrisy of contemporary politics, but who cares for principles and propriety when votes are more precious than gold?

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