On the Road: BJP inherits Sanjay Gandhi’s legacy

Before Varun, in the villages, people across all relgions have lived in harmony and peace
Akash Bisht Pilibhit
 
All across the walls of Pilibhit adorn the posters of BJP leader Varun Gandhi and his mother Maneka Gandhi, son and wife of Emergency's notorious de facto dictator: Sanjay Gandhi. While rest of the posters of other party leaders from different parties like Congress, SP and BSP have been blackened, the Varun Gandhi posters have been left untouched. The poster reads: "Naam wahi jo kaam karega, Pilibhit ka naam karega." (Only that name which makes Pilibhit famous.)

Pilibhit is a small town on the highway that has more auto repair and parts shops than buildings. Trucks loaded with goods are parked on either side of the shops while auto repair workers sweat out in the hot sun to repair these monster machines. A fleet of young men dressed in saffron ride bicycles singing devotional songs. Some of them brandish swords and keep repeating, Bharat Mata ki jai! Each cycle has a saffron and red flag used in temples that distinguish them for any other party worker.
 
In one of the auto shops Kripa Shankar sits with his colleagues discussing how this young Hindutva brigade are using these flags instead of the BJP flags to fool the Election Commission. "These are all paid BJP activists who hang around the city intimidating people of other religions," Shankar says. He and his colleagues are hesitant to admit, but kind of agree with the hate speech of Varun.

Rakesh, a cable operator, enters the shop and complains about the next door shopkeeper who has refused to pay the cable rent due to bad reception. Shankar asks, "What do people think of Varun?" Rakesh replies promptly, like a recorded tape: "Varun nahi yeh aandhi hai, doosra Sanjay Gandhi hai."  (This is not Varun, but a storm: the next Sanjay Gandhi.)