Shiladitya Chowdhury – A face in the crowd

KOLKATA: He has been in the city on November 30 — BJP’s rally day in the city — every year since 2012. Sunday wasn’t any exception. Shiladitya Chowdhury couldn’t reach BJP state president Rahul Sinha over telephone since last night, but he came without being asked to — alone — to keep a promise he made to his septuagenarian mother Sandhya.
Lodged for a fortnight in Jhargram jail after CM Mamata Banerjee branded him a “Maoist”, Shiladitya has been in constant touch with Sinha, who had not only met him in jail but also promised his mother to “look after” her youngest son.
Trying to make himself heard over loud cheers when BJP national secretary Siddharth Nath Singh went hammer and tongs at the Trinamool top rung, Shiladitya told TOI, “Forget what has happened to me. Even in the Saradha scam, what is stopping the chief minister from acting against the culprits? Why is she so insistent on giving them the clean chit? People are not liking it. By supporting the accused, she is giving out a wrong signal.”
Shiladitya has come a long way from being a reticent and media-shy bus helper on the Jhargram-Belpahari route. He still works as a helper on the same route, earning Rs 150-200 daily. “BJP hasn’t given me financial support but they have helped me file the case in Calcutta high court. In fact, I came here with my own money,” he said.
Part of an apolitical group vocal against rights abuses in Bengal, Shiladitya said: “On December 7, we will leave for Rashtrapati Bhavan to inform President Pranab Mukherjee about the manner in which constitutional bodies are being stymied in Bengal. You know, the support base of BJP is swelling but people are afraid of voicing their opinion. They are afraid of police atrocities.”
As Shiladitya spoke to TOI, Amit Shah had already taken the stage. But Shiladitya was a star among the crowd. A few people came up to him to shake hands and ask for his phone number. Nishikanta Bauri, a casual labourer in the Bakreswar Thermal Power station, was among the first to recognize the man in red T-shirt and jeans. Bauri walked up to him to click a photograph. “We have seen him on television. We are proud of him,” Bauri beamed.
Shiladitya was quietly enjoying his moment of fame, but was jolted back o hard realities. “The case against me is still on. I have stopped going to court now. I had gone there for two months on the trot. Nothing has happened. For me, to go there means losing a day’s income. So I informed the lawyer that I cannot attend the proceedings. He told me the court could issue summons. I will consider it then,” he said.
The petition filed by him will come up for hearing on December 12.