Till the IPS officers’ association expressed its dissatisfaction with the way Bhatt and his family had been treated, everything was proceeding in accordance with the script preferred by Modi. The party big wigs had turned up at his sadbhavna show and sung his praise. Although no one, least of all Modi himself, linked the event with his prime ministerial ambition, few were in doubt that this was the subtext.

The only jarring incident was the inability of Haren Pandya’s widow to present a memorandum about her husband’s assassination, which, the family suspects, was at the behest of people high up in the government and the party. As is known, Pandya himself had feared for his life ever since he deposed before an unofficial inquiry committee that the police had been dissuaded from acting against the rioters.

It is, of course, this very allegation which has landed Bhatt in trouble. But when the police were ordered to arrest him, the chief minister could not have believed that the “tainted cop”, as a saffron newspaper described him, would elicit so much support from his fellow officers. Till the arrest and his incarceration in a stinking, dingy cell, as the officers’ association has said, it was evidently business as usual for the Modi government. This is how it has always functioned, during and after the 2002 riots, intimidating whoever crossed its path into submission, a propensity which left the Supreme Court with no alternative but to transfer the trials of some of the major cases outside Gujarat.

In following these bullying tactics, the government could always depend on a pliant bureaucracy. There were only a few police officers, of whom R.B. Sreekumar was one, who had the courage of their convictions to stand up against the government. Bhatt was the other conscientious officer, whose charge was one of the most damning since he claimed to have been present at the meeting in the chief minister’s house on the evening before the riots started, where he heard what Pandya had told the unofficial panel.

It is now up to the courts to decide on the veracity of these charges and counter-charges. But, what the decision of the officers’ association to express solidarity with Bhatt has shown is that the voice of conscience cannot be suppressed for ever. Even if it has taken 10 years for the officers to speak out, their action deserved to be commended. It has to be remembered that even now, they have taken a risk. Although they have the safety of numbers, having acted through their association and not singly, they cannot be unaware that they are up against one of the most ruthless persons in present-day politics, whose track record shows how he has worsted whoever opposed him, including formerly influential members of his own party, such as Keshubhai Patel.

Besides, it is not Modi alone with whom the officers have to contend, but his party which cannot allow one of it “strong” leaders to be seen beating a retreat lest it shows up the entire organization in a poor light and make the other chief ministers – and there are five others – wary of the officialdom. For, there is little doubt that if the Gujarat officers get away with their defiance of Modi, the ripples will be felt far and wide.

Arguably, the episode has its positive side. For far too long have the IAS and the IPS accepted the orders from their political masters meekly even when they were aware of their illegality. It wasn’t only during the Gujarat riots that the police and the bureaucracy turned a blind eye to rampaging mobs, but also in Nandigram and in Delhi during the anti-Sikh riots. Theoretically, the officers are expected to speak their minds without fear or favour. But, they rarely do so lest they are demoted or transferred to an out-of-the-way place. If the latest events in Gujarat mark a turning point in the conduct of officials, it will be a cause for celebration.

For Modi himself, the show of dissent is the most serious challenge he has faced as chief minister. Since his entire career has been built on an image of being a no-nonsense person, a setback of any kind is out of the question for him, especially if it concerns an officer who has virtually accused him of subverting the constitution. Yet, it is an episode which was waiting to happen since the chief minister had been living dangerously ever since February 28, 2002. (IPA Service)