A clean betrayal

This model of coalition politics was ended by voters in 2007 as they believed in the intentions and capability of Mayawati. The upper castes and middle classes saw Mayawati as the only alternative to the then chief minister, Mulayam Singh Yadav. They gave her a clear mandate. Yadav was ousted from power despite holding on to his vote bank.

As per records, 160 out of 402 legislators in the present assembly have criminal cases pending against them. They are distributed over all parties, the largest number being in the BSP. Seventy out of 206 BSP legislators have criminal histories. But this also means that Mayawati has almost two-third legislators with a clean record. She had no fear of defection under the new law. So she could afford to have a ministry of only clean legislators.

It was a lifetime opportunity for Mayawati to display good governance. However, she belied the hopes of the electorate on the very first day while composing her ministry. Several ministers with criminal records were inducted into the ministry. The police were made to salute them.

People were surprised to find that one of her ministers, Anand Sen Yadav from Faizabad, was in jail on the day Mayawati was sworn in. He was released on bail to take charge as minister. He was alleged to be involved in the murder of a young Dalit girl. The girl8217;s father, ironically, is a BSP supporter. Yadav was subsequently asked to resign by Mayawati.

D.P. Yadav, whose antecedents are well-known, was admitted to the BSP. And now comes the case of the Mahrajganj police filing a case of violence and murder that of a police constable at a police station against the former fisheries minister, Jamuna Nishad. But the police could not arrest him till the chief minister herself gave them the signal to do so.

There is a crisis for the Mayawati government, with instances of corruption, bribery and ministerial misconduct being discussed openly. The chief secretary resigned recently, citing differences with the Mayawati regime.

Soon after assuming power, Mayawati dismissed nearly 14000 policemen recruited during Mulayam Singh8217;s term. She also ordered the lodging of criminal cases against the Samajwadi Party workers for their alleged misdeeds during the past three and a half years.

As far as crime control is concerned, some people feel that the situation under Mayawati is marginally better than under Mulayam. They say that politicians with guns and musclemen are not seen on the streets grabbing land and harassing traders. But there are many who contest this perception. Mayawati is lucky not to have Nithari-like cases that outraged public sensibilities; but the investigation in the Arushi murder case in Noida is enough to question the working of the UP police.

Police officers say frequent transfers hamper their ability to properly supervise the investigation in criminal cases.

Mayawati is yet to give a clear signal that her election slogans of last year will become reality.

The writer is a journalist with the BBC based in Lucknow

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