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Not all BJP leaders are as heartless as Shivraj Singh Chouhan

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Ashok Upadhyay
Ashok UpadhyayAug 26, 2016 | 22:43

Not all BJP leaders are as heartless as Shivraj Singh Chouhan

In the following picture, the man in white with a red turban on his head is not a flood victim. He is helping flood-affected people of his area and his name is Ramanuj Chaudhary. He is a politician who contested the last Assembly elections in Bihar as the BJP candidate from Parbatta constituency in Khagaria district.

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Ramanuj Chaudhary helping flood victims. 

While Chaudhary lost the election to the JD(U), it did not stop him from helping the people of his area. When Parbatta was marooned by floods this BJP leader literally threw himself into the water to help flood victims.

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This picture was shared by one of my friends on a WhatsApp group. I called up my friend to check the authenticity of the picture and the person. My friend appeared tentative. So after a Google search I landed on the Facebook page of Chaudhary. This picture was posted by him on August 25.

Contrast it to the following two pictures of Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

In the first picture, he is being carried by two policemen while on his visit to the flood-hit areas of his state.

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Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan being carried by policemen. 

In the second, he is seen walking barefoot through the mud but one of his aides is seen carrying his white sneakers.

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Chouhan's aide carries his sneakers. 

Defending the chief minister, principal secretary SK Mishra said that the chief minister had a "Z" category security and the security personnel had to ensure that he was not bitten by any poisonous creature in the flood waters. Mishra went on to say, "Chouhan in fact risked his life to cross the swollen nullah. He is too sensitive to people's problems. He is meeting people affected by flood round-the-clock. We should appreciate his concern, sensitivity for the people rather taking it the other way round."

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The BJP has presented these two models of flood relief in less than a week. While Chouhan has to be protected from poisonous creatures in the flood waters, Chaudhary doesn't even bother about it.

Chouhan's aide carries his white sneakers as he walks barefoot through the mud to protect it from being soiled but Chaudhary is neck deep in water to help the flood victims.

Chouhan was elected to represent the people and it is the duty of the chief minister to serve his people. Chaudhary, on the other hand, had lost in election, yet is voluntarily seen helping out. While the chief minister sets an example of what a politician shouldn't do, Chaudhary shows what one should do in such a situation.

Ironically, both are from the same BJP, whose top leader - Prime Minister Narendra Modi - calls himself the pradhan sevak. I wish successful politicians like Chouhan takes a lesson from his "loser" party colleagues like Chaudhary on the finer points of being a caring leader and human being.

Last updated: August 26, 2016 | 22:43
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