Arrested crisis

Bhupesh Baghel’s decision to let the police arrest his father for alleged hate speech has helped him score political points

- SRAVANI SARKAR

THE TWITTER bio of Nand Kumar Baghel reads thus: “Proud father of Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel”.

The description smelled faintly of irony on September 7, when Nand Kumar, 86, was arrested and remanded to judicial custody in Raipur for making comments that allegedly showed the Brahmin community in poor light. At a public event in Uttar Pradesh, he had reportedly described Brahmins as “foreigners” and urged backward communities to “boycott” them.

In his six-decade-long career as a crusading socialist, Nand Kumar has got himself into trouble a number of times for his anti-caste tirades. This time, though, was different. A father being arrested and sent to jail by a government headed by his son was a first in India. It attracted a lot of public interest. Bhupesh defended the arrest saying he could not ignore acts that could upset public order. “No one, including the father of the chief minister, is above the law,” he said.

It is no secret that the Baghels have bitter ideological and political differences. But when he was granted bail four days after his arrest, Nand Kumar weighed in on the arrest with equanimity. He told THE WEEK that his son had only discharged his duty as chief minister. A first information report registered in a police station in Raipur had necessitated the arrest. What Bhupesh did, said Nand Kumar, was not political. “There might be ideological and political differences between us, but that does not alter the father-son relation,” he said.