West UP locals divided as BJP makes better law and order pitch
ALIGARH/MATHURA/FIROZABAD/ KASGANJ: Soaking the winter sun in his courtyard, which is flanked by mustard fields, Virendra Pal Singh, a resident of Kumarpur in Firozabad says the atmosphere around him has changed for the better since Yogi Adityanath became the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. “There were three things that we were perpetually worried about, Bhains, Beti aur Baali (cattle, daughter and jewellery). Earlier, women could not step out post sundown, cattle thieves would raid our cowsheds and even in broad daylight, snatching was commonplace,” he says.
Singh, who is a Thakur, the same caste as the CM, says his village is now more secure and people do not hesitate to attend weddings even late at night. His neighbour, Janki Devi, a septuagenarian agrees. “Now we have no fear, we know that the police will have to act if there is a complaint,” she says.
Both assert that the law and order situation has changed dramatically since the Samajwadi Party lost power in the 2017 assembly polls. “During the SP regime there was no sunwai (hearing)…criminals were emboldened,” says Singh. The state’s ruling BJP government has repeatedly touted its law and order record; the claims do find resonance on the ground.
“There is not only fear of the police, but fear within the police as well. There were times when some policemen would seek bribes and harass us… now they are also careful,” says Pradeep Sharma, who runs a shop in Mathura. In Hathras, a first-timer voter, Meenu (who gave only one name) says Adityanath’s stance against criminals has encouraged her to join the police force. “I am finishing my BA, but I am also preparing for the competition (competitive exams) and I want to join the police,” she says.
Crackdown on crime
The Adityanath government claims that since it came to power -- winning 312 of the 403 seats in the assembly --there has been decrease of 37% in cases of acid attacks against women, 41.4% in trafficking and 33.6% in rapes compared to 2016. It also claims that the state has seen a significant fall in the number of rape cases from 3,419 in 2016 to 2,317 in 2020.
Various crime bureaux data collated by the state government point out that in 2016 the National Crime Records Bureau put UP on top of the list of states in the category of crimes against women. It adds that from 59,445 in 2016, the number of such cases fell to below 56,000 in 2021.
The government also touts its record on dealing with cases of stalking and harassment. The controversial “anti-Romeo” brigades introduced to check harassment of young girls have led to 14,454 arrests, it says.
The government’s contentious decision to seize the property of those found guilty of damaging public property taken during the anti-CAA protests is hailed and criticised in equal measure.
“It is a bold move to take such a strong step. It sent a message that public property cannot be burnt at will. The demolition of Mukhtar Ansari’s House was a clear message that this government is damdaar (powerful),” says Sharma.
In August last year the administration in Lucknow razed Ansari’s residence. A former legislator, Ansari is currently in jail for being accused in the killing of BJP leader Krishnanand Rai in 2005.
The government claims it has collected ₹32.36 lakh by confiscating property from those found guilty of destroying public property during the anti-CAA demonstrations and has in the last five years razed properties worth Rs 1,800 crore that belonged to criminals and gangsters.
In various places in Western UP, the forceful, decisive image of the CM is acknowledged as a reason for reining in communal riots.
“During the SP rule riots were frequent. Hundreds of clashes took place between Hindus and Muslims and the government took no action,” says Singh. The government claims 700 riots took place during the Samajwadi Party’s stint in power between 2012 and 2017.
In Kasganj, the epicentre of a riot in 2018 where a tiff between two groups over giving passage to a Tiranga Yatra on January 26 led to loss of life and property, people belonging to different sections have contrasting views of the law and order situation. Mukesh (who gave only one name), a pharmacy owner in the region’s Tawal Pur village, said communal tensions have reduced. “Now that the issue of the Mandir (Ram Temple in Ayodhya) is sorted, they (Muslims) have realised that this government means business.”
Criminalising the other Things aren’t better for everyone, claims, Vinod Kumar, a painter from Dalit dominated Tilsai, located a short distance from Tawal Pur, also in Kasganj. “Law and order has improved for the upper castes. Aren’t Dalit girls still being raped? Jiski lathi, uski bhains (he who owns the stick, owns the bullock).”
The question of improved lawand-order is most debated in Muslim-dominated areas. In Aligarh, where Muslims account for 43% of the population as per Census 2011, the issue of minorities being perceived as criminals is vociferously debated. An employee of a private company who asked not to be named said that “this improvement in law and order is just a pretence to criminalise the other.”
The employee goes on to add: “Suddenly all abattoirs were found illegal…because only the Muslims and the Dalits were engaged in the slaughtering business. Go to Agra and Kanpur, there are hundreds of small cottage industries locked up because this government has an obvious bias. Look at the number of people slapped with NSA and Gangsters Act.”
In UP the slaughter of cows and their illegal transport is penalised under the NSA, which that can lead to a jail term of a year or more and the Gangsters Act allows seizure of property as penalty. As per the state government’s information, till August last year, the UP Police had invoked the NSA against 139 people in the state of which 76 were booked for cow slaughter.
Mohammad Sajjad, professor of modern and contemporary Indian history at the Aligarh Muslim University, says there is disparity in response to crime. He adds that the action that the government took against Muslims who participated in the anti- CAA protests was not the same for others who protested.
“The craft economy has been crippled and there is a return to licence raj. Who are the largest meat exporters, which party are they aligned to, these questions are not gaining political salience and the electorate cannot see this.”