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Journalism of Courage
Huge arches on Patna roads are wishing you a Merry Christmas. Thank the Election Commission for that: Rashtriya Janata Dal workers could not pull down all the arches before the EC observer came calling so they painted Christmas greetings on some of them overnight.
However, for K J Rao, Election Commission special observer, seeing through these wasn’t a problem. He is an old Bihar hand, has seen Bihar elections since 1980 and had submitted the report that led to the countermanding of elections in Chapra in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections.
Two days ago, every RJD leader in Bihar was outsmarting each other to be seen all over the city on hoardings. Today each one was running for cover— everyone wanted his name erased. However, despite the efforts of hundreds of RJD workers through the night, there was enough left in the city that gave the observer a clear view of what has been going on.
By 9 am on Tuesday, Rao was on the road, with Patna DM Gautam Goswami and City SP Shaleen. He first drove to the Miller School ground opposite the state RJD office, where remnants of a huge pandal erected by an RJD minister for the workers welcomed him.
The pandal had already been dismantled. Rao then drove to the Patna railway station, bought a platform ticket and entered the station. He spent around 10 minutes in the station and took note of a train that had posters of the RJD rally all over it. Gandhi Maidan, the venue of the cancelled rally, was his next stopover. Though the huge dais and the decorations were all dismantled, huge bamboo structures that supported cut-outs all around the ground were still intact.
Rao closely looked at how all the boundary walls, including that of the Chief Justice’s residence, were initially taken over and now whitewashed. He did not say anything. At the state road transport station there was a hoarding. ‘‘Who is in charge of this place,’’ he asked. Someone turned up. ‘‘Did you get any money for letting this hoarding here?’’ ‘‘No Sir,’’ he replied. Rao proceeded.
Then he went to the office of Bihar Chamber of Commerce, where he talked to some representatives and then entered the commercial taxes offices with a crucial question—Have they received taxes for all the hoardings that were seen in the city? They had not been informed of any hoardings by the ruling party.
Driving along, it struck Rao that the boundary walls of the Kotwali Police Station were freshly whitewashed, barely hiding the names of the RJD pantheon. He stopped there and entered the police station. ‘‘You gave permission to do this?’’ Rao asked the DSP. ‘‘No, Sir,’’ the reply. ‘‘Have you filed an FIR?’’ ‘‘No Sir, I am new at this station,’’ said DSP S N Singh. Rao nodded.
By this time the cover-up in Patna was apparent, and the EC official decided to drive to the neighbouring Hajipur. At the railway station, the RJD posters were all over, including the ticket counters. ‘‘Aren’t these all public property?’’ Rao wondered. The station master was summoned. ‘‘Have you filed cases for this?’’ ‘‘Huzoor, what can I do? I am helpless,’’ the station master pleaded.
By 2 pm, the inspection was over. By 3, Rao was at Patna airport’s VIP lounge, holding a copy of Bihar Prevention of Defacement of Property Act, 1995. ‘‘You see, this is not an Election Commission law, it is the state government’s,’’ he said.
‘‘How many hoardings had you given permission for?’’ he asked the District Magistrate. ‘‘180 in Patna Sadar Subdivision,’’ replied the DM. ‘‘But there were many more, weren’t there,’’ he asked. ‘‘You fax me the details,’’ the DM was told.
By this time, the deputy commissioner of commercial taxes had arrived with a written statement on what he had to say. So what has Rao found? ‘‘I cannot disclose all the secrets. I will submit my report by tomorrow to the commission,’’ said Rao.
