Medha, Dy CM row ends in her arrest

The drama began around 9 am, as a result the entire district administration was stationed at the Deputy CM’s house for the day. The activists had gone to meet Subhash Yadav and were waiting outside his house. Though the two sides offer conflicting versions of what followed, there is no dispute over the tone and tenor of Yadav’s remarks against Patkar.

NBA activists said as soon as Yadav emerged from his house in the morning, he headed for his office without meeting them. Yadav said he asked NBA activists to accompany him. He claimed he even sat on the road to talk to them but they were only interested in raising slogans against him.

Yadav then made several statements about Medha Patkar, which he repeated while talking to journalists, alleging she was only interested in media publicity and should direct her remarks to the camera. ‘‘These people are responsible for the power problem in the state. She is only interested in publicity and international awards. She wants to build her international image, show that no one is a bigger environmentalist than her. They think akele thekedar yahin hain (they believe they are the only ones concerned). Ye bolti jab hai, jab media ka focus hota hai (She speaks only when the media focuses on her). Nau saal se jhel rahan hun (I have been putting up with it for nine years).’’

Told that Patkar had sat down on a fast in the May sun to protest such remarks and would not even take water for 24 hours, he said: ‘‘Isse paani pila kaun raha hai (Who is offering her water?).’’

He then went on to defend the government’s record regarding resettlement, claiming that every effort had been made.

Yadav ended up a sorry figure when he agreed to meet other NBA representatives in the evening. Speaker after speaker punctured his claims and left him with no answers.