I have committed this political hara-kiri to bring them back to their senses: Jawhar Sircar

The former bureaucrat, who resigned as Trinamool MP over the Kolkata rape case, speaks out on his decision to leave party amid growing public unrest.

Jawhar Sircar speaking in the Rajya Sabha. | Photo Credit: ANI

Jawhar Sircar, Rajya Sabha MP of the Trinamool Congress, dropped a political bomb on September 8, by sending his resignation letter to West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee, citing the State government’s “faulty handling” of the rape and murder case at R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital. In a hard-hitting letter, the former bureaucrat pointed to various ills within the ruling party and the government, and said that the “non-political”, “spontaneous” protests in the State are “as much for Abhaya as it is against the State government and the party”. In an exclusive interview with Frontline, Sircar claimed that he took this decision in an attempt to correct Trinamool from continuing in its present course. Excerpts:

You were among the very few leaders in the Trinamool who have often viewed the party’s activities through a critical lens. Was the R.G. Kar case and its subsequent developments the last straw for you?

You see, the movement that has been sparked off by the terrible rape and murder at R.G. Kar is a totally different kind of movement. Earlier there have been movements either against or in favour of a political party, but this time it is against a system. When I say system, it encompasses the party, the government, the representatives all around, the corruption, the evidence of opulence, the pressures of hegemony: all put together make up the system. It is this system that people are revolting against; and that is why I have written [in the resignation letter to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee], that there is total no-confidence against the government, even when it is saying the correct thing. This kind of lack of credibility is extremely dangerous. I have committed this political hara-kiri just to bring them back to their senses. I have written several times that you are just bringing the BJP in. You may be bad, but they are worse. A course correction is required is what I wanted to say.

I took this extreme step because I realised that nothing has improved in spite of my repeated requests for intervention. I came back to Kolkata from Parliament on August 12, and on August 13 I said [to] suspend the principal Sandip Ghosh. Many people started saying that I was talking anti-party. I had said before and I said it in my resignation letter, that if you had broken the caucus earlier, things would have been better.

Where do you think the government went wrong here, and what should it have done?

These caucuses and strongholds had grown completely unchecked over the years. They had taken it for granted that they will do whatever they feel like, and the government would protect them. The government’s attitude has also been, “This is our child, and we will not do anything to him.” The people saw through this. Partha Chatterjee [former Trinamool heavyweight and Education Minister, currently in prison in connection with the School Service Commission recruitment scam] and his friend were caught with piles of money. There was the recruitment scam, the ration scam, the coal scam, etc. While it is true that you are not the only government that has scams, you have to understand the sensitivity of the State. This is a very emotional State. Remember the State was all for the Congress till 1977. In 1977, the Congress was rejected, and it was wiped out of the State after that. A State that was once a Congress base, never forgave the Congress.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Front, ruled the State for 34 years, but you don’t see them anywhere today. They have not been forgiven either. It is not a question of Trinamool being a holier party than the others; it is a question of saving the dam. A State such as Assam, which is quite like us, has been taken over by the BJP and made into a communal cesspool. In Bengal, the situation may not be so bad, but if a large percentage of the population has no faith in you, you will not have any peace. Like I mentioned before, I am paying the price for them to wake up: this is the way I look at it.

You have also written in your letter that whatever punitive steps the government is taking now may be too late. Do you believe the situation is beyond retrieval now for the government?

The steps the State is taking now should have been taken a month ago. This is what I had said when I came back to Kolkata on August 12. I want to know what the State Home Secretary was doing. The problem is nobody speaks out. The relationship between a bureaucrat and a politician is akin to that between a physician and a patient. The physician must be frank with the patient. Most of the bureaucrats seem to be putting their words across in a Yes Minister language. But then, there are some “stupid” people who will tell the truth in a blunt manner.

Another significant point you mentioned in your letter was that the movement in Bengal is as much for Abhaya, as it is against the State government and the party. Are you indicating that it is an accumulation of grievances that the Abhaya tragedy has brought to the fore?

Absolutely. It is a volcanic outburst. I, as an indisciplined soldier, have been maintaining that instead of taking this as a political confrontation, see it for what it is: a people’s movement; the people are angry with you. Most certainly, there are political parties fishing in troubled waters, but would you not have done the same if you were in their position? My point is to look at the troubled waters, instead of fixating on the fishing part.

A protest march over the alleged sexual assault and murder of a trainee doctor, in Kolkata, September 8, 2024. | Photo Credit: PTI

Do you see this as the beginning of the end for the Trinamool?

If that happens, then the only party left to take over [the BJP] is something that I dread. The common thing between the Congress, the Left, and the Trinamool is that all three are secular parties. Look at what the BJP is doing in the cousin States of Tripura and Assam; and what they will soon be doing in Odisha. My message is: Who is responsible if the BJP comes to Bengal? You are. This will cause a lot of problems for the Trinamool. Rickshaw drivers and delivery men are also bringing out processions against the R.G. Kar case. This is an infectious sort of disgust. More than Abhaya, it is against the system.

Has Trinamool tried to dissuade you?

I have had a conversation with Mamata Banerjee, but it is very private.

Any chance of you changing your mind?

No, I will not change my mind. If I do, the reason for which I unsheathed my sword gets lost immediately. I received calls from MPs from all non-BJP Opposition parties, requesting me to reconsider my decision. But if I do reconsider, the seriousness of the situation will be lost, and I will also lose my credibility.

What do you plan to do next?

I will continue my struggle against the forces of oppression. I will continue to write against Adani and all that is happening in the country. Before I joined as MP, I was writing very strongly against the steps the BJP government was taking to suppress democracy and the federal principles of the country. But I will miss the Parliament. I have not moved away an inch from my belief that left liberalism is the only panacea to India’s ills. I am proud to say I am a left liberal.