PM Modi is roaming the country, doling out the numbers of dead soldiers on the border. He is also trying to get people to attend the election rallies while quoting the sacrifice, lives lost and the bravery of departed soldiers.
At the same time, two people have been martyred in Varanasi which is represented by Modi. It has been two days since the incident happened, and doesn’t even look like Modi is aware of it. These martyrs for soldiers have a big history. About a week ago, the PM had sat down five people who represent this ‘soldier’ community and washed their feet before the camera. He had said to the people of the nation that this was somewhat a compensation for all the excreta and urine they cleared at the Kumbh Mela.
Unfortunately, it hasn’t been even a month since he washed their feet, two dalits in his own constituency Varanasi, have fallen into the manhole and died.
All along his administration, Modi has been emphasizing on Swachata Andolan. He has not only taxed people separately for this, but also told people that they had to celebrate cleanliness like a movement. He has spent thousands of crores on this. The real soldiers of this movement are Pourakarmikas. Advertisements, speeches and events do not clean up the city. Cities open up to life only after the Pourakarmikas sweep clean the roads and bylanes.
If the cities are clean in the morning, it is not because of Modiji’s speeches; but because of these sanitation soldiers having done their duty diligently. Cleanliness is health. Just the way as our soldier in high altitude suffer health complications while guarding the country, Pourakarmikas have been sacrificing their health so that the country remains clean. Their average lifespan is merely 40 years, this is somewhat a startling truth revealed by experts.
The practice of getting Pourakarmikas to get into the manholes and clean them up has continued unabated, despite the fact that the government has spent thousands of crores on Swachata Andolan. It could have been a big revolution if Modi had brought in sewer cleaning machines to change and revolutionalise the way Pourakarmikas work.
Thousands have died getting down into the crap holes. There is hardly any difference between the soldiers who march ahead despite a threat to life, and these Pourakarmikas who get into manholes clearly understanding the implications. But when a soldier dies, he becomes a martyr and a Pourakarmika dying in a manhole does not even become a news item. His life is worthless. Human dignity would have died along with him.
Getting any special compensation is a far cry because his children come to occupy the space of their dead father.
When he was the CM of Gujarat, Modi had said the labourers performing the role of Bhangis or cleaners, was spiritually elevating for them. The same mindset continued in Kumbh Mela when he washed their feet in an emotional drama. He seems to have given a message that the Pourakarmikas should continue performing the same duty. This is the gift he gave to those who had cleaned the excreta of lakhs of people who had come together in Kumbh mela.
If he had some gratitude towards the Pourakarmikas, he would have announced some really special schemes for them. He could have regularized their jobs since most of them live on temporary employment. He could have given them benefits and upheld their dignity through that.
He could have extended same facilities to their children as he does to the army kids. Their lives would have been some bit better if not totally. But he used the entire opportunity of those Pourakarmikas to play for votes before the camera.
The tragedy that happened in Varanasi somehow makes one feel very devastated about the future. One wonders if there will ever be a day in the future when the Pourakarmikas won’t be sent down the manhole.
Till such things happen, the Pourakarmikas have to be accorded all respects by PM Modi as that of a soldier who dies on duty. Their final rites will have to be conducted with the same respect as that of soldiers. Their relief amount has to be increased. Swachata Andolan can get meaningful only with such measures. This is the duty of PM Modi who washed the feet of Pourakarmikas. But will Modi even notice these things while he is busy counting bodies of soldiers ahead of elections?
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In an impassioned plea, Shweta Sanjiv Bhatt, the wife of former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt, has denounced what she terms as an "illegal" and "unlawful" conviction handed down to her husband by the Palanpur Sessions court in Gujarat. Sanjiv Bhatt, already serving a life sentence in a separate case, was sentenced to an additional 20 years in jail in connection with a 1996 case involving the planting of drugs to frame a Rajasthan-based lawyer.
Shweta Sanjiv Bhatt took to social media platform X to express her outrage at the court's decision, decrying it as a gross miscarriage of justice. In her post, she alleged that the judiciary, represented by "Justice" J.N. Thakkar, had delivered a verdict riddled with illegality and falsehoods. She asserted that her husband had been falsely implicated in a fabricated case that dates back nearly three decades.
The crux of Shweta Sanjiv Bhatt's argument lies in the court's ruling that the 20-year sentence handed to her husband would not run concurrently with his existing life imprisonment term. Instead, the court ordered that the 20-year sentence would commence only after the completion of the life imprisonment term, effectively ensuring that her husband would spend a considerable portion of his life behind bars.
Furthermore, Shweta Sanjiv Bhatt lamented that the time her husband had already spent as an under-trial during the prolonged legal proceedings would not be counted towards his sentence. This, she contended, amounted to a flagrant violation of legal principles and a denial of basic human rights.
"Justice" J.N. Thakkar today pronounced an unlawful conviction of 20 years of rigorous imprisonment NOT CONCURRENT to the Life Imprisonment sentence along with a fine of 5 lakh rupees. Which means, the 5.5 years spent as an under-trial in this case while the prosecution maliciously dragged the fabricated case on and on will not be counted towards the 20 years of imprisonment or the unlawful Life imprisonment sentence… In fact, in a gross departure from legal principles, as per the judgement pronounced by J.N. Thakkar, the 20 years of imprisonment are to start and counted after the completion of the Life Imprisonment sentence. THE REGIME WANTS TO PUNISH SANJIV BHATT TO DEATH AND THEN PUNISH HIM BEYOND DEATH FOR A CRIME HE DID NOT COMMIT!!!” Shweta’s post read.
In her plea, Shweta Sanjiv Bhatt accused the ruling regime of orchestrating a campaign to silence her husband, whom she portrayed as a fearless advocate for truth and justice. She asserted that the relentless persecution faced by Sanjiv Bhatt over the past two decades was a testament to the threat his truth posed to those in power.
“Just when you think the regime and their bootlickers cannot stoop any lower, they fall further down to unimaginable lows! Not only is this an absolute mockery of the judiciary and blatant abuse of power but it stands against every legal tenant of jurisprudence! This is the heavy and cruel price Sanjiv Bhatt is paying for standing up for what is right while the very society he sacrificed his everything to protect remains silent and watches on as mute spectators. This is the price Sanjiv Bhatt is paying for your continued silence and apathy …” Shweta wrote in her tweet.
“Dangerous examples continue to be made of Sanjiv Bhatt as the regime continues to leave no stone unturned to prosecute and target him, so much so that they are using any and every desperate means, to discredit Sanjiv and ensure he spends his life languishing in jail. The regime has targeted and persecuted Sanjiv Bhatt relentlessly for the last 2 decades, which is testimony to the colossal threat Sanjiv’s truth poses to this regime. The misuse of the judiciary and abuse of power is only indicative of how desperate the regime is to silence Sanjiv at any cost!” she added.
Drawing attention to what she perceives as a broader erosion of democratic values and the rule of law, Shweta Sanjiv Bhatt called upon society to rally behind her husband and denounce the injustice being meted out to him. She urged individuals to speak out against what she described as a "declaration of war against truth" and to stand in solidarity against tyranny and oppression.
“You failed to protect your defenders; will another defender ever stand up to defend you in the future!? The regime and its lackeys, intoxicated by power and fuelled by malice, are determined to crush dissent, to silence the voices that dare to speak out against their tyranny. Let us rise, not in anger, but in solidarity. Let us raise our voices, not in hatred, but in unwavering determination. Let us fight, for Sanjiv Bhatt … against the injustice meted out to him! This isn't just injustice; this is a declaration of war against truth, against righteousness, against the very essence of humanity!!” she further added.
This is Shweta Sanjiv Bhatt,
— Sanjiv Bhatt (IPS) (@sanjivbhatt) March 28, 2024
Today, on 28th March 2024, the “Justice” J.N. Thakkar of the Palanpur Sessions court illegally and falsely convicted Sanjiv Bhatt in a 28-year-old fabricated case.
"Justice" J.N. Thakkar today pronounced an unlawful conviction of 20 years of… pic.twitter.com/CU9EamCZCo