'Fishing' in troubled political waters

DARBHANGA: Rail minister Lalu Prasad has a history of turning adversities into political advantages. Bicycle ride to the Patna airport, the (in)famous road journey to Birsa Munda jail in Ranchi or hiring a rickshaw for going to a court - these are just a few examples of Lalu''s political iconoclasm that have, in the past, drawn huge applause from the masses.
So, when one of the severest floods ravaged north Bihar last year, Lalu tried to make the best out of the worst.Shooting his mouth again, Lalu said the floods give the poor an opportunity to relish the delicacies of a variety of fish. For him, nature''s fury was a blessing in disguise for the impoverished lot as he thinks only the rich can afford to enjoy fish.
But, for a set of people paralysed by the ferocity of downpour, the statement was not half as funny as the `neta'' might have thought it to be. With elections round the corner, there is in fact a simmering undercurrent against this banter. "Look at his audacity... He cracked this crude joke at a time when we were navigating our way through the troubled waters," Manohar of Manigachhi assembly constituency resents.
Condemned to living on roads and railway tracks during the flood, the people of Sikri just do not want forget that nightmare now when they have to exercise their franchise. One villager says: "When we needed roti, kapada aur makan, the minister was speaking about fishes. That was like rubbing salt on our wounds."
Arun Kumar, a history professor at LN Mithila University, Darbhanga, asks, "Was Lalu trying to do a Marie Antoinette in Bihar?" Lalu''s historic comment on starving people may even put to shame the famous French queen''s statement - "If the people have no bread, then let them eat cake". That was enough for a slice of history!
The resentment runs deep into entire district, considered to be stronghold of the ruling RJD. "We always considered Laluji the messiah of social justice and secularism because he gave us a voice. But, now, we have seen his arrogant, anti-people face. He thinks he can get away with whatever rubbish he utters. People here may be illiterate but they are not living in a fool''s paradise," says Imeteyaz of Sobhan village.
When people yearned for salutations, they were mortified by big time talking. Now, they say, only ballots will speak.