THE MAN WHO SILENCES HIS PARTY

CHHATTISGARH’S TRIBAL Congress MLA Kawasi Lakhma seems to have a penchant for landing his party in embarrassment at crucial junctures. He appears to have also mastered the art of making the party look the other way in such unsavoury situations. The legislator from Konta (ST) in Chhattisgarh’s south Bastar district of Sukma, survivor of the 2013 Jiram Ghati Naxal incident in which 27 Congress leaders were massacred, has virtually poured cold water on his party’s ongoing campaign for prohibition in the state when he was apparently found boozing in company of some people. A video purportedly showing Mr Lakhma having a drinking session with his “friends” at an undisclosed location had gone viral at a time when the Congress was mounting pressure on the Raman Singh government to impose prohibition in the state. Needless to say, the ruling BJP was quick to grab the opportunity to slight the Congress by advising the Opposition party to first keep its MLAs away from liquor before demanding to make the state alcohol-free. “One should first learn to practise before preaching,” the BJP quipped while taking a jibe at the Congress. The Congress had earlier faced embarrassment when Mr Lakhma’s role in the Jiram Ghati incident was questioned by some partymen, who had accused him of leading the Congress convoy in an unscheduled route in Bastar resulting in the Maoist ambush. The alleged exposure had taken sting out of the Congress campaign against the BJP government on the Jiram Ghati Naxal attack issue then. On both occasions, the party had chosen to look the other way, for reasons best known to the leadership.