Rahul stands with tribals, except when Congress wants Bauxite

Tribals in the Agency area of Visakhapatnam district have been fighting against the Telugu Desam government’s move to revive Bauxite mining and a smelting plant in the area. Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to visit Andhra Pradesh on August 6 to express solidarity with these tribals. 

 

The visit was announced by Digvijaya Singh, the party’s in-charge general secretary of AP at Visakhapatnam. He said Rahul would visit Chintapalli, a key village in the Bauxite belt. 

 

He said the Congress would be in the forefront of the battle against the Bauxite project and Rahul Gandhi would interact with the members of tribal communities from 45 villages to understand their fears about the proposed project.

 

Digvijaya also added that the Congress was opposed to the mining project and would join the adivasis in opposing the revival of the project by the TDP regime. Perhaps Digvijaya, who is considered to be Rahul's political guide in the Congress, imagined that the unlettered adivasis might not recall their past. 

 

The Congress seems to be believe that Rahul’s visit would spark a revolt in the jungle and help shift the attention of tribal communities to Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party.  

 

But before entering the picturesque and lush Chintapalli area, Rahul has to do a lot of soul searching.

 

In 2007 it was YS Rajasekhara Reddy-led Congress government in the state and the UPA government in the centre that gave all clearances for the Bauxite mining project.  With the united strength of as many as 32 MPs from the state, Rajasekhara Reddy got central clearance for the project despite fierce opposition from tribals and environmentalists in the state. 

 

The mining of Bauxite not only damaged forests, but also endangered streams that bring water to the port city of Visakhapatnam. Rajasekhara Reddy never addressed these fears of the people and gave contracts to Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) and Jindal South West (JSW). There were large protests against the royalty fixing mechanism followed by Rajasekhara Reddy, which would have given a pittance to the state and billions of dollars to RAK and JSW.  

When the project was shelved, it was not over respect for the sentiments of the jungle dwellers. The sudden demise of YSR, the subsequent CBI inquiries into the deals and the subsequent changes to state Congress leadership that brought the project to a grind.

 

The present chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu was then in the forefront of anti-mining movement. He spoke then much like Digvijaya Singh has spoken now. Like Rahul, Naidu also visited the tribal hamlet and sheds tears over the destruction of the forests and the annihilations of the tribals. 

 

He had vowed that he would never allow YSR's project to be implemented, come what may. Ironically, after assuming office on June 8, 2014, one of Naidu’s first tasks was to revive Bauxite mining for the development of the state. Except the language in which the idea was shared, there is no change in the core objective of YSR and Chandrababu Naidu.

 

Will Rahul Gandhi disown the Congress’ culpability before engaging with the tribals? It seems highly unlikely