Nothing could be more in form than a chief minister among his people. But this simple, and ideal, scenario became ugly and sinister on Sunday. Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee was visiting cyclone victims in the Sundarbans that day, about 130 kilometres away from Calcutta. The point was to get as close to the people, and to the truth, as possible. But why were a group of villagers kept locked inside a small tin shed in the middle of a hot day during the chief minister’s visit? The police and administration, who were guarding these villagers behind a collapsible gate, have alleged that these locals were a threat to Mr Bhattacharjee’s safety. But this sounds patently unconvincing since the villagers had been recruited by the administration itself for the distribution of relief. So, not only were these relief-workers forcibly prevented from doing their job, but it looks like they were also being barred from confronting Mr Bhattacharjee with their version of the truth of how relief operations were being mishandled in the area. The only way in which the system can deal with its own incompetence and corruption is through an outrageously Stalinist use of force that may not surprise many, but had certainly provoked a widespread eruption of popular rage.

Sitting amidst the ravages, surrounded by the evidence of his administration’s failure to bring any relief from the devastation, the chief minister had to resort to a mix of entreaty and threat to keep the angry villagers down. His questions regarding the extent of damage, the burying of dead cattle or the supply of food, water, tarpaulin and bleaching powder were all being answered by local political heads. When a villager protested angrily against their misrepresentation of the actual situation, Mr Bhattacharjee threatened to throw him out of the room. The villagers’ later attack on the block development officer, and their looting of bottled water stored for the chief minister’s party, have to be seen in the context of their desperate attempt to get food and water after days of having to manage without either and to let the chief minister know of their desperation. The humane, and politically intelligent, response to this cannot be to suppress the truth by locking people up, but to be honest and efficient. However, the use of force comes more naturally to this administration than do honesty and efficiency.