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UP politics hots up

	January 22, 2007

Congress withdraws support to Mulayam, Trust vote on Jan. 25



Politicking in poll-bound Uttar ‘Pradesh has intensified with the Congress withdrawing support to the Mulayam Singh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party government in the state and the Government going in for a trial of strength in the Assembly. Earlier, the Rashtriya Lok Dal of Ajit Singh, which was a constituent of the government, walked out and withdrew support. There was pandemonium in the legislature meeting on Thursday, Jan. 18 when Governor TV Rajeshwar had to cut short his speech to a joint sitting of both Houses following protests from the Opposition. The opposition parties were demanding dismissal of the Mulayam Singh Yadav Government for its alleged failures, particularly on the law and order front.



The Governor made a hasty retreat from the Chamber without reading the full text of his speech. As soon as the Governor rose to address the House, the entire Opposition including BJP, BSP, Congress and RLD members began shouting anti-Government slogans.



When the State Assembly met later, noisy scenes continued and the House was adjourned till Jan. 24.



Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav plans to seek a vote of confidence on the floor of the House on Jan. 25, setting the stage for Assembly elections to be held by May this year.



A day before the UP legislature met, the Congress announced on Wednesday, Jan. 17 that it was withdrawing support to the Mulayam Singh Yadav Government. At a hurriedly called news conference in Lucknow, state Congress president Salman Khurshid and Congress legislature party leader Pramod Tiwari said that the party had taken the decision in view of what they called the anarchy-like situation prevailing in the state. Observers say that withdrawal of support by the Congress and earlier by the Rashtriya Lok Dal does not pose any danger to the Mulayam Singh Government. But it makes the Samajwadi Party vulnerable ahead of a verdict by the Supreme Court in a case dealing with some Bahujan Samaj Party MLAs who had switched sides and gone over to the Samajwadi Party. The Supreme Court has reserved its judgement in the case. If these MLAs are disqualified, the state government will be without a clear majority in the state Assembly.



The Congress is reported to be making all out efforts to pull down the Mulayam Singh Yadav Government during the trial of strength in the Assembly this week. Rashtriya Lok Dal leader Ajit Singh met Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi last week. They are reported to have discussed the situation in the state in detail.



With the Assembly at the fag end of its tenure, no MLA is bothered about the anti-defection law or disqualification. In such circumstances, MLAs crossing the floor cannot be ruled out.



Even the 37 MLAs, whose fate is to be decided by the apex court in a disqualification petition, are susceptible to poaching. Though the BSP is not a direct player, Mayawati is reportedly offering Assembly seats to several sitting SP MLAs in return for dumping Mulayam during the vote.



“Our withdrawal of support does not reduce the Government to a minority. We cannot predict what will happen tomorrow,” said Congress leader Ashok Gehlot. The Congress eagerness to see the back of Mulayam is apparently because of his reputation of being able to use his position to swing electoral fortunes.





Congress trying to forge an alliance



The Congress is also making efforts to put together a front to stay in the reckoning in the state in the coming Assembly elections. There are reports that former Prime Minister V.P. Singh and his Jan Morcha colleague Raj Babbar have been in touch with Congress leaders to decide the contours of the front. Ajit Singh’s Rashtriya Lok Dal may also be roped into the front. Among the Left parties, the CPI has already joined hands with the Jan Morcha.



But there are several problems coming in the way of the formation of a front including the Congress. For instance, the RLD has suggested that Ajit Singh be projected as the Front’s Chief Ministerial candidate. Congress and Jan Morcha have objected, pointing out that the emphasis is on seat sharing and cementing the alliance, not promoting an individual.



Though the RLD strength has traditionally been confined to western UP, the party has made clear its intention to contest quite a few seats in eastern UP. The Congress-led front, sources said, would try hard to dent Mulayam Singh’s Muslim constituency. “What is needed in UP is a broad front, a secular alternative to SP,” Congress spokesman Abhishek Singhvi said.



In a related development, State Governor T.V. Rajeshwar met Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil and Union Law Minister H.R. Bhardwaj in New Delhi on Monday, Jan. 15. Although it is not known what transpired at the meetings, they came against the background of demands for the imposition of President’s Rule in the state in the run up to the Assembly elections.



In another development, the Manmohan Singh Government has rejected the state’s proposal to categorise Machhua (fishermen) and around 15 sub-castes of other backward classes involved in fishing and boating as scheduled castes. The rejection defeats the Samajwadi Party strategy of ensuring fresh support from among the OBCs by fulfilling their demand of being put in the SC list. The Centre’s decision came on the ground that studies done by the state did not establish “untouchability” which is the corner stone for being an SC.





Nithari killings : UP Administration and Police at fault



The ongoing CBI probe into the killing of children at Nithari village, near Noida, has brought out more evidence of the apathetic approach of the Uttar Pradesh administration and the police to complaints of missing children.



The CBI has found more bones and other material indicating that as many as 40 children and youngwomen may have been sexually abused and killed in the two year-long gruesome tale of missing persons and their disappearance, without the administration and the police waking up.



The CBI is looking into alleged lapses on the part of the police and allegations of local policemen shielding the accused. The villagers allege that the police were reluctant to register FIRs in the cases of missing persons.





Central probe panel faults UP policemen



The four-member Central committee, inquiring into the Nithari killings, has indicted the Uttar Pradesh administration and police for “apathy and indifference” in dealing with the complaints of children missing.



“Since the modus operandi and the motive of the crimes are not still clear, there is need to investigate these crimes from different perspectives, including organ trade, sexual exploitation and other forms of crimes against the children,” said the committee, which submitted its report to the Minister of State for Women and Child Development Renuka Chowdhury in New Delhi on Wednesday, Jan. 17



Even though reports of a number of children missing came from just one locality, the police did not take sufficient action to trace them, the committee said. The victims’ families did not receive any support or cooperation from the administration or the community until the crimes got nationwide publicity.



Constituted on January 3 to investigate the allegations of sexual abuse, rape and murder of children at Nithari, the committee visited the village and Noida twice, held discussions with officials, met the families of the victims, and local residents.



In scathing criticism of the police’s inaction, the report says despite the fact that a number of children had disappeared, police did not take action to recover the children. “So many children disappeared from one locality. We have to pin accountability for this.”





Non-filing of FIRs



The National Human Rights Commission has pulled up the Uttar Pradesh Government for the non-filing of first information reports on custodial and encounter deaths in the State and delay in complying with its recommendations on the issue.



The NHRC expressed anguish at the large-scale manipulation of revenue records in which the landholder was declared “dead” even though he was alive for the purpose of usurping his landed property. It expressed concern over the inadequate action taken against the erring officials.



The NHRC conducted a full commission meeting in Lucknow from January 18 to 20. While 32 cases of human rights violations were disposed of by the full Commission, 150 cases were disposed of by single members.



Non-compliance of its recommendations relating to encounter deaths and cases relating to the “living dead” dominated the hearing. Briefing the press on the outcome of the meeting, Acting NHRC Chairperson Shivraj. V. Patil said the pace of compliance was worrisome.



Patil said the action taken against the revenue officials was “totally inadequate.” The Principal Secretary of the Revenue Department was directed to submit details of the cases of the “living dead” by March 12.



In a bid to take the fight to the Congress camp, the Samajwadi Party has been speaking about the killing of children in Congress-ruled states. Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh and party MP Jayaprada visited Muktsar in Punjab, on Jan. 14 to meet the families of five children, reportedly done to death by a drug addict and left in an abandoned rice sheller owned by a former Congress MP. The Samajwadi Party announced a compensation of Rs. 1 lakh each for the families of the five victims.



Amar Singh demanded that the CBI should be asked to probe the Muktsar killings. He alleged that Congress president Sonia Gandhi was following a dual policy for the states in which there were Congress governments and for those ruled by other parties. He said, Sonia Gandhi was quick to comment on the Noida killings, but had said nothing about similar incidents in states ruled by the Congress.