BJP leader assaults disabled man. Welcome to a brave new world of equal opportunity
Recently, a video of a BJP leader assaulting a specially abled man in Uttar Pradesh went viral on social media. Predictably, the social media sob brigade was up in arms, crying about cruelty and heartlessness and oppression of the weak.
Fiddlesticks. This lot is so neck-deep in its own sanctimony, it missed an important point — through his actions, the BJP leader was sending out a message of equality. Everyone and anyone can be beaten up. No patronising nonsense about disability. After all, there is an ‘equal’ in equal opportunity offending.
The video in question has been shared widely on social media since December 25. In it, Mohammad Miya, a BJP leader from Amroha, can purportedly be seen assailing Manoj Gujjar with a stick and shoving the stick into his mouth (this last bit he has denied).
In the video, Gujjar can be seen saying: ‘Vote denge Akhilesh ko (will vote for Akhilesh)’.
Miya, however, has come up with a more detailed version of Gujjar’s offences.
“He was abusing Modi ji and Yogi ji (Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath), I tried to first explain things, he was drunk, it was a conspiracy to malign BJP, I was just trying to make him leave the place. I didn’t shove a stick in his mouth," Miya said.
Imagine.
- He was apparently trying to abuse Modi ji and Yogi ji.
- He was apparently drunk.
- There was apparently a conspiracy afoot to malign the BJP.
Which full-blooded, dedicated party leader can stand by and pussyfoot about concerns for disability (pshaw) in the face of such grave provocations? Miya did only what he had to do — deliver justice, swift and sure, at lathi-point.
Just because what Gujjar did is not chargeable under the Indian Penal Code, is it not a crime? As Miya says, he dared to criticise Modiji and Yogiji. Not just criticise but criticise in front of a BJP leader. Not just any BJP leader but a leader with a lathi in his hand.
Of course he'd get a taste of that very lathi.
And to give due credit to our law-enforcement authorities, while Miya has not yet been arrested and in fact has been given the time and opportunity to issue clarifications, Gujjar has been detained.
According to reports, the incident took place when Miya and other BJP workers, along with Sambhal district president Rajesh Singhal, had gone to meet the area's Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) at the collectorate. Exactly what were the other BJP leaders and the long arm of the district administration doing while Miya was administering this new version of justice to Gujjar is not known.
Last week, we had another BJP leader at another SDM’s office, yelling at her for not having an ‘inkling of his power’.
While SDMs may now start dreading visits by BJP leaders, what the aam aadmi must not miss is the leaders’ industry — busily visiting district officials to raise people’s issues, and so what if they also raise hell in the process.
Therefore, please stop condemning Mohammad Miya. By striking at Manoj Gujjar, he has only proved that a man’s disability cannot overshadow his ability to be assailed. Violently, if you please.
Welcome to a brave new age of equal opportunity.