Munda: Divine help

Jamshedpur, Jan. 30: Only god can help chief minister Arjun Munda ward off former science and technology minister Samresh Singh’s agnivan (arrow of fire), or so the astrologers believe.

As the former minister from Bokaro fires yet another salvo from his quiver-full of bombshells, three brahmin priests in the steel city invoke the deities to equip Jharkhand’s modern-day Arjun with the mother of all “counter-charge”.

For the past three days, the trio has been performing special yagnas to ensure that Munda manages to “wriggle” out of the mess. The special tantrik ritual will offset the unpleasant “elements” working against the second chief minister.

City-based astrologer-cum-tantrik, Chandidas Mukherjee, has taken the initiative to perform the ceremony. Mukherjee knows Munda for over a decade.

An admirer of the chief minister, Mukherjee admitted that Munda’s planets were hostile. He had met the chief minister and apprised him of it in December last year.

“Politicians are by nature god-fearing. Performing pujas or yagnas is nothing new to Indian politics. Several chief ministers and even the Union ministers are known to organise special rituals to propitiate the gods. But in Munda’s case, I have volunteered to pray for him,” Mukherjee said.

The tantrik claimed that the chief minister was surrounded by evil forces. “It is my duty to keep such elements at bay. The first installment of the three-day yagna ended today. Two more phases will be held soon,’’ he said. Mukherjee said two fellow tantriks, Ramchandra Purohit and Harendra Nath, were helping him perform the yagna. While Purohit is from Guwahati in Assam, the other tantrik is from Jairambati in West Bengal.

Mukherjee, whose list of clients includes senior bureaucrats, leading businessmen and politicians, said he has special regard for Munda. “Arjun’s pro-poor stand appeals to me. I watched him help a poor man at Ghorabandha when he was the welfare minister a year ago. The man has a golden heart and should be shielded from evil forces,” the tantrik said. When told about the yagna, the chief minister laughed. But after a brief pause, he admitted that he was close to Mukherjee. “If he has taken the initiative for my well being, it is his greatness,” he said with characteristic humility. But sceptics are not pinning much hope on the pantheon. “Only the ballot box can help him,’’ shot back an Opposition leader.