Visitors dropping in at Anosh Ekka’s house at Simdega, can scarcely miss the large picture on the wall, in which Ekka is seen shaking hands with the world’s richest Indian, L.N. Mittal.
The picture might remind some of Lucky Singh in the film, Lage Raho Munnabhai, but Ekka obviously draws his inspiration from Mittal. In some ways, his own story has been even more spectacular. For a man who once lived in a one-room unit built under the Indira Awaas Yojana, whose father and brother continue to retain similar units and, according to some reports, who are still clubbed under the BPL (Below Poverty Line) category, he has clearly come a long way.
Last week, Ekka could also have easily got into the Guinness World Records, if only he had informed the organisation early enough of his intention. Yes, we are referring to the birthday bash he organised for his only son, Sandesh, last week at Simdega. With 50,000 guests, as many as 100 cooks and over 200 goats slaughtered, it could well be the most expensive birthday that any eight-year-old has had.
The party, as reported in this newspaper, started at 10 in the morning on Friday and by the time the last guest had finished eating, it was already 4 am on Saturday. Four huge pandals had been erected, one for the VIPs, two for the hoi polloi and the last one for party workers. It is difficult to estimate how many people were engaged in supervising the bash.
But the minister himself had been camping there for a week and it could not have been less than 500 people assigned to ensure that guests are attended to. Police and homeguard were there, looking after VIPs and controlling vehicles and the crowd. Every inspection bungalow and the Simdega circuit house was taken over by Ekka’s men.
The eight-year-old birthday boy, who studies in Gurgaon’s G.D. Goenka School, was made to wear a suit and accept greetings. He looked slightly bewildered at the attention. The Ekkas have a 10-year-old daughter, who studies in a Ranchi school, but her birthday has never been celebrated on such a scale.
Ekka’s wife admitted as much. “The arrangements this year are far better,� she said candidly. Early next morning, the birthday boy was bundled out of Simdega and driven to Ranchi, from where he flew back to New Delhi.
The chief minister and the Union coal minister had the good sense to stay away. But besides the DC and Simdega SP, hordes of businessmen, transporters, contractors and block development officers, among others, descended there. Among them was the BDO of Goelkera (West Singhbhum), who had driven 200 kilometres to attend the do. He had high fever and was shivering but managed to whisper that he had to come to “pay his respect�. It was the minister, after all, who had promoted him to the BDO’s post from that of the Block Agriculture Officer and courtesy demanded that he be there.
Also in attendance were the mobile inspectors who were in the news earlier this year, when they had been suspended on corruption charges. Ekka, as the transport minister, had got their suspension withdrawn. All of them were in attendance at Simdega last week, paying off their debt of gratitude.
But the officials who took the cake were the deputy commissioner and the superintendent of police. Both turned up after 9 pm on Friday and had their dinner before they were escorted to the dais put up for singers and performers, who had come down from Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri to entertain the guests. But the Simdega DC and SP were made to address the gathering of 5,000 and odd people, who were waiting for the musical evening to begin.
The officers greeted the birthday boy, thanked the volunteers for doing an excellent job and, then, dutifully, thanked the minister for boosting the morale of the Simdega people. That was the time when the minister also got carried away. The birthday bash, he promised, will be even bigger next year, if he remained a minister.
The operative part was, “if he remained a minister�. The bash cannot be held, he implied, if he loses his post. In a way, it let the cat out of the bag. Ekka was making the most of his status. The poor man actually kept contradicting himself.
First, he justified the enormous expenses by claiming that tribal custom is to gift a goat or rice to the hosts at such functions. But he had hired the services of a Ranchi-based caterer, who had finished the cooking even before the guests started arriving. The minister also slipped up when he ordered one of his minions to arrange for more goats.
He also went on to claim that the bash was some kind of pre-election meet. A mid-term poll, he indicated, is round the corner and he believes in getting ready. Had it been so, he had no business inviting government officials and the DC and the SP had no business attending it or addressing the gathering.
Ironically, the Simdega DC, an IAS officer of the 1999 batch and with a BE degree from IIT, saw nothing wrong in the display. “Samaresh Singh, when he was the minister, used to organise such parties that continued for days,� he recalled, reminiscing of the days he had spent as an SDO at Chas. When ministers like Singh and Sudesh Mahto can splurge, he argued, why blame Ekka?
A similar justification was provided by another guest, Chamra Linda, who happens to be the president of Adivasi Chhatra Sangh. If the likes of Lakshmi Mittal can dazzle the world with his parties, he reasoned after a sumptuous meal at Simdega last week, why can’t Ekka?
This same logic is advanced by both Congress and JMM leaders. While privately calling Ekka a fool and an upstart, they publicly defend him.
Says Shailesh Sinha of the Congress, “MLAs are obliged to keep in touch with people.� Since every Assembly constituency has nearly two lakh voters, he argues, MLAs cannot be faulted for entertaining them.
BJP leaders are predictably critical. “There is already a law in force called the Guest Control Act, which puts a ceiling on the maximum number. The Act even prohibits guests from showering lavish gifts on the host. However, the Act has been forgotten by mutual consent of all concerned,� alleges Sarayu Roy, the Jamshedpur (West) MLA. Ministers, he says, are clearly earning much more than they can spend.
That explains the manner they are splurging on occasions, when their “black money� can be spent unnoticed. The income-tax authorities, he demanded, should investigate the sources of expenses made, just as it had investigated the lavish spending by Lalu Prasad at his eldest daughter’s wedding.
Significantly, contractors and businessmen perceived to be close to former finance minister and Jamshedpur (East) MLA, Raghubar Das, were conspicuous by their presence at Ekka’s bash.
The silence of almost all parties, the absence of media criticism and the apparent reluctance by income-tax department to probe ministerial corruption have not come as a surprise.
It is now accepted that politicians and ministers will make money unlawfully. Why, then, create a fuss ?
Posted By Staff Reporter: Gurgaon City News
in Gurgaon News
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