Jaydip Chakrabarti
February 19, 2018: In a flash, she pushed her assault rifle back into her shoulder, swung into action – jumped three stairs down and reached an elderly lady only to save her from falling off the wheelchair. Holding the lady delicately, she politely told her companion to be more cautious.
She – Priyadarshini (name changed) was a woman CRPF trooper. As she was helping the wheelchair bound lady, spellbound voters waiting in queue curiously witnessed a quick transformation of the harsh and tough looking trooper into a caring and tender woman.
Wearing a stern look – a pair of seemingly emotionless eyes – Priyadarshini along with other women CRPF personnel was manning 8/10 booth at Birchandra Library in Agartala today. This particular booth is special in the sense that all the polling staff and security personnel were women. The women troopers came from West Bengal and Priyadarshini hails from Midnapur.
“All the six members of polling staff are women and all of us first timers, but we were properly trained to tackle the voting process smoothly”, said the Presiding Officer of the booth. Even though, many booths complained about non-functioning of EVMs etc since beginning, polling started at Birchandra Library immediately after mock poll without any delay. It went smoothly until a voter – aged more than 90 – kept pressing the button for too long, EVM ceased to function. All the women poll personnel including one women micro observer immediately started making calls to higher officials, security guards too became alert and urged people to remain cool. “This is the only challenge we have faced so far. But we are enjoying our duties and responsibilities which was so long an unexplored to us”, said a young poll personnel on condition of anonymity.
However, initially the presiding officer was reluctant to speak to media, as she was not sure what to say and what not to. “It is necessary that election Commission imparts some basic trainings to poll personnel how to handle media people, how far to allow them and how much right do the media persons enjoy”, said a veteran journalist of Agartala after several media persons reported about non-cooperation of Poll personnel in many booths across the State.
As the voting process halted due to non-functioning of EVM, one of the middle aged voters murmured, how a woman – universally known for their kind hearts – shot bullets and kill people. Priyadarshini was once again quick to pick up the point. In a soft voice she shots back and asked, have not you seen the film – ‘Vastav’ where an affectionate mother was ultimately forced to kill her notorious son?
“Yes, being a mother of two sons and a daughter, it hurts to kill a person. However, when in uniform with riffle, I feel that being a mother, it also my duty to punish the unruly people so that good ones can stay secured”, Priyadarshini explains.
Whenever, I fire a bullet I feel two things simultaneously, I suffer the pain of the mother who has lost her son and I feel satisfied that at least one rowdy who would empty laps of many mothers have been eliminated.
Sensing that she was speaking too much, soon she transformed herself once again into combative mood with finger once again on the trigger and riffle ready to blaze. (Also published in Tripura Times)
