Bihar: Vaishali crowd greets ‘lauh purush’ with pro-CAA chants

VAISHALI GARH: All roads leading to Khanauna village, adjacent to the venue of Union home minister Amit Shah’s ‘Jan Jagran Sabha (public awareness meeting)’ about CAA, were dotted with saffron flags and mood of the local residents was upbeat. Reason: It was the first occasion for them to have a glimpse of the BJP stalwarts, particularly Shah.
“Shah has emerged as ‘lauh purush’ (a man with iron will) of the present era.His role in abrogation of Article 370 and 35A, which earlier gave special status to Jammu & Kashmir, has made me a great fan of him,” said 70-year Janardhan Singh, who was being helped by his 18-year-old grandson Sonu Kumar to reach the venue of the meeting.
People were seen jostling with each other to reach the venue as early as possible. “I have come from Dhankaul village under Patepur assembly segment of Ujiarpur Lok Sabha constituency in Vaishali district. Though I am not a BJP ‘bhakt’ (as saffron party supporters are referred to), I have come to listen to the Union minister to know the fact of the matter,” said Ganesh Kumar (55), who ekes out livelihood by giving door-to-door tuition to students.
The motley crowd mostly comprised of youths, who responded by waiving their hands in the air at every shout of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’. The crowd became restless to listen to the Union minister as soon as the helicopter started hovering over their head on the Khanaura Pokhar ground. Slogans like ‘Amit Shah zindabad’, ‘Amit Shah amar rahe’ and ‘Bharat mata ki jai’ rent the air.
Though women were sitting calm and composed in chairs, they too joined the youths when Shah asked the audience to take out their cellphones and dial a particular number to express their solidarity with central government on the CAA. Everybody in the crowd showed their cellphone sets to Shah and started dialling the number. “Lekin mera phone to lag nahi raha hai (I am not getting connected),” rued Pawan Singh (35), a resident of Vaishali Garh.
A woman police constable, who was on duty near the barricade, replied, “Jammar laga hua hai. Phone kaise lagega (Jammers have been installed. How will the cellphones work?). The same complaint came from others in the crowd as well. Movable jammers were installed at the venue as a precautionary measure. Shah’s threat perception is very high.
Mamta Devi (48), a resident of Ufraul village, was more candid in her conversation. “Mujhe CAA ke bare mein bahut malum nahi hai. Lekin netaon ki baat sunkar to aisa lagta hai ki kanoon thik hi hai (Though I don’t have much knowledge about the CAA, the netas’ statements suggest that the law is okay),” she said, adding that several BJP functionaries led by Union minister Nityanand Rai and state party chief Sanjay Jaiswal had earlier visited her native village.
Though the villages around Kharauna Pokhar, the venue of the meeting, have a sizeable chunk of Muslim voters, their presence was negligible. “Battlelines have already been drawn. Abki baar vidhan sabha chunav mein pata chal jayega ki janta kiske saath hai,” said 65-year-Sarfaraz Alam, a tailor.