30 July, 2014

Saharanpur riots show SP regime’s clumsiness


Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has reacted to the Saharanpur conflict like the way he has been doing every time that communal violence has broken out— which is often since he took charge a couple of years ago — in his State: Blame the Bharatiya Janata Party. 

He has claimed that the Saharanpur clash between Muslims and Sikhs over a disputed piece of land is a result of the prevailing communal environment in the State which the BJP has vitiated. Bipartisan observers will point to the many instances in which the ruling Samajwadi Party leaders muddied the situation by crass communal actions and speeches, and then followed it up by meddling in the affairs of the police to get the accused off the hook. There have been too many incidents of communal conflict over the last two years in the State for the Chief Minister and his Government to escape culpability, with the Saharanpur violence being the latest. 

The dispute over property had been simmering between the Sikh and the Muslim communities in Saharanpur (the same constituency, incidentally, whose Congress candidate Imran Masood had threatened during the election campaign to chop Mr Narendra Modi to pieces), and the local administration and the police were aware of it. But they either failed to anticipate the build-up on Saturday or preferred to ignore it. If reports that ‘outsiders' had formed the bulk of the mob that went on a rampage, burning and damaging public and private property, are true, Mr Yadav must answer how his law enforcement agencies could not spot the presence of these elements and take preventive action. Surely it should have been easy for the local administration to identify ‘outsiders'. 

The fact that Eid was round the corner ought to have heightened security concerns among the State agencies. The Chief Minister's plea that secular elements among the communities must sit together to ensure peace sounds fine on paper, but the fact is that his regime has previously taken sides in communal clashes. He has been boasting of his credentials by pointing out that his administration had recently stopped a procession led by noted Shia cleric Maulana Kalbe Jawad. The fact is that Maulana Jawad and his supporters have been for some time now opposed to the Samajwadi Party's conduct, and it suited Mr Yadav's politics to come down hard on the cleric. In any case, the Chief Minister has been silent on the charge of corruption in the administration of Wakf affairs that the Maulana has levelled.

The task before the State Government is to first and foremost ensure that life returns to normal in Saharanpur; that peace initiatives influential locals have undertaken are given a chance to work; and that the rioters (regardless of their religious or political affiliation) are identified and tried in a court of law. The police have reportedly booked certain people. It is to be seen whether the politicians at the helm allow the law to take its course or intervene with malicious intent, like they did in the case of the Muzaffarnagar incident a few months ago. It must be kept in mind that the partisan conduct of the police which came under political pressure then had triggered the terrible violence which left thousands without a roof over their heads and hundreds of innocent families traumatised.

Courtesy : The Pioneer

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