THE conviction of the godman Gurmeet Singh on charges of rape and the violence unleashed by his supporters in Panchkula and other places has exposed the political nexus between the BJP and such dubious peddlers of spiritual salvation.The Dera Sacha Sauda head had called upon his followers to vote for the BJP in the October 2014 assembly elections. The BJP was suitably grateful and lavished patronage on Gurmeet Singh and the Dera. 19 of the 47 BJP MLAs called on him to convey their gratitude for his support.

“I salute this land of deras” – this is how Narendra Modi started his address to an election rally in Sirsa in the run-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. And his opening sentence in another election rally in Jind during the campaign was: “I salute this land of Khaps!” There remains no doubt about the complicity of the BJP government in Haryana after the orgy of arson and violence following the August 25 conviction, by a Panchkula-based special CBI court, of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet alias Ram Rahim for rape of his two followers.

THE special CBI court in Panchkula, Haryana, has convicted the Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in the charge of rape of two sadhvis, in a case that was registered in 2002. This verdict has sparked off widespread violence and rioting in Haryana, Punjab, Delhi and parts of Uttar Pradesh, leading to the unfortunate death of over 30 people and injuries to hundreds.

LOOK at some broad figures:On August 13, elections to seven municipalities including Durgapur Corporation took place in West Bengal.  There were 146 wards in total. TMC won four of them without contest. Out of the rest 142, TMC won 138 wards. In Durgapur, a traditional strong base of the Left and in Haldia, TMC won all the wards. They got 72 per cent votes in seven municipalities. TMC got 85 per cent votes in Haldia. In many wards of Haldia, Durgapur, Nalhati and Coopers’ Camp, TMC received over 90 per cent votes.  To a section of media, this is a ‘clean sweep’ by the TMC.