As I write this, Dr S S Gautam, the principal of a government college in Seondha in Datia district of Madhya Pradesh, is in Gwalior jail, probably drinking his morning cup of tea from an aluminium mug. He is going to enjoy the state’s hospitality for two weeks or more, for which he should be immensely grateful to the MP government for more reasons than one. People had come out on the street, baying for Dr Gautam's blood.
His crime? A video went around showing Dr Gautam less than deferential towards gods and goddesses. Indian Express today (02 June 19) tells us:
“In the video that went viral, Gautam is purportedly heard saying he never allowed photographs of gods and goddesses to adorn the walls of the departments he had been in-charge of. “To those who questioned me, I told them I will replace them with better photographs or have a statue installed, without any intention of doing so,” Singh [a police officer] quoted Gautam as saying.
“Gautam appears to add that he wants portraits of only Mahatma Gandhi and B R Ambedkar in the college.””
From MP, let’s move on to Gujarat, the state which kindly provided an economic and societal model that the country seems to have adopted with gusto.
Avdesh Dubey came from Varanasi to Valsad a few years ago in search of living. He has been making a living by selling toys to railway passengers journeying between Vapi and Surat.
Avdesh, apparently a creative bloke, also mimicked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other politicians like Rahul Gandhi to draw the attention of his potential customers. (I cannot even think of watching such blasphemous videos, but they are available on the Internet, I believe, and they went viral.)
RPF didn’t take the impertinence lightly and filed cases against him under several sections of Railway Act which forbid (a) hawking and begging, (b) spreading nuisance / using abusive language on railway coach, (c) unlawful entry into train and so on.
Avdesh, the railway vendor with a few funny bones, was arrested and produced before a Judicial Magistrate in Surat. The magistrate fined him Rs 3,500 and sentenced him to 10 days judicial custody.
Hopefully, he won’t mimic the prime minister or anyone else in the rest of his life.
*
Welcome to New India, Ladies and Gentlemen.
Please look at the picture of Avdesh Dubey (which I have copied from the Indian Express) and check how an enemy of the people looks.
2 June 2019
No comments:
Post a Comment
I will be happy to read your views, approving or otherwise. Please feel free to speak your mind. Let me add that it might take a day or two for your comments to get published.