Deputy Collector Nisha Bangre promised to go on an indefinite hunger strike if her meeting with CM Shivraj Chouhan did not yield result. (News18)
Deputy Collector Nisha Bangre started a ‘Justice March’ from Betul district in MP to Bhopal, was arrested in her quest to meet the chief minister, and is now aiming to give seasoned politicians a run for their money
Across three states — Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh — there is a growing trend of bureaucrats, including IAS officers, leaving their much sought-after jobs to join political parties to fight polls. However, there is one civil servant whose political ambitions have made heads turn.
MARCH FOR ‘NYAY’
In the season of ‘babus’ fighting elections, Deputy Collector Nisha Bangre has hogged headlines. Her resignation to contest polls hasn’t been accepted yet and that has made her start a ‘Justice March’ from Betul district in MP to Bhopal.
Bangre says she wants ‘nyay’ for herself which is acceptance of her resignation tendered in June-end.
In her pursuit of ‘nyay’, Bangre started a 335-kilometers-long march from Betul district that recently reached Bhopal. In politically charged Madhya Pradesh, this bureaucrat — still in service — seems to be giving many seasoned politicians a run for their money as she spent nights under the open sky during her march. On October 9, her ‘yatra’ reached Bhopal where her goal was to meet Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
HUNGER STRIKE, JAIL & PHOTO OP
When denied permission to meet Chouhan, Bangre started marching toward his residence with her supporters.
However, she was stopped and arrested under Section 151 and sent to jail. The bureaucrat also carried a photo of Ambedkar with her, imitating the best in the business of politics.
What’s more? She promised to go on an indefinite hunger strike if her meeting with Chouhan doesn’t yield any result. However, she has been arrested and sent to jail instead where she started a hunger strike — a political tool often deployed in Indian politics — before she was released.
WHY THE FIASCO?
“It’s an issue of our rights. We are stopped from holding prayers according to our faith. We don’t have freedom to live,” alleged Bangre.
The incident can be traced back to Bangre seeking permission to hold an all-faith prayer meeting during the housewarming for her newly constructed residence which was denied. It was after this that she chose to resign.
However, sources in the BJP claim she had high political ambitions from the very beginning and wanted to use the meeting to launch her campaign. “She wants to fight elections from Amla. That’s why she is resorting to these theatrics,” said a BJP functionary from Madhya Pradesh, adding that they have been advised to not comment on her. “This will get her undue publicity,” they said. BJP has fielded Dr Yogesh Pandagre from this constituency.
Bangre, who started the long march from Amla, alleged that her supporters were threatened with assassination as well. She also alleged that many of them run the risk of being “run over” and has now approached the courts.
The Madhya Pradesh bureaucrat is milking every twist in the saga to her benefit. While being released on bail from jail, she came out wearing hordes of garlands made of marigold flowers. She even claimed her dress was torn while the police were arresting her. “We have witnessed police atrocity where not only my clothes were torn but a photo of Baba Saheb (Ambedkar) was also broken…We need to uproot such government,” said the defiant bureaucrat.
In the sizzling political atmosphere of Madhya Pradesh, Nisha Bangre seems to have set a new precedent for politically ambitious bureaucrats.