Caste shadow over women146;s panel

Such allegations of caste bias are aplenty at the Uttar Pradesh Women8217;s Commission, formed to address grievances of women across the St...

Such allegations of caste bias are aplenty at the Uttar Pradesh Women8217;s Commission, formed to address grievances of women across the State 8212; caste, religion no bar, at least officially.

Though its papers say the 7,000-odd cases the Commission has got since its formation on August 19, 2004, were handled well, some of the members are quite vocal about what the alleged 8216;8216;casteism8217;8217;.

8216;8216;It8217;s an open secret that Brahmins like Ashok Pandey and Alpana Bajpai the Commission8217;s new, and first, law officer are getting preference over other members,8217;8217; said Geeta Singh, one of the members.

Singh alleged that for the last few months only Pandey has been allowed to tour the districts. 8216;8216;I went to Meerut during 8216;Operation Majnu8217; recently and filed a detailed report, but my tour was declared illegal. However, Pandey8217;s tours are always approved. Isn8217;t this Brahminism?8217;8217; she said.

Besides the chairperson, Ranjana Bajpai, the Commission comprises six members 8212; Shaheen Fatima, Mala Dwivedi, Zarina Usmani, Geeta Singh, Ashok Pandey and Vidhyvati Rajbhar 8212; who are assigned four or five districts each. The members, appointed by the State Government, are required to visit these districts on fact-finding missions.

Requesting anonymity, two other members said, 8216;8216;It8217;s humiliating when people ask us to visit their districts, or inquire about their cases, because we cannot commit anything. But Pandey is sent on tours thrice, sometimes even four times a month. Besides, we can8217;t understand why Alpana Bajpai conducts hearings despite being a non-member.8217;8217;

Chairperson Ranjana Bajpai was accused of favouritism and casteism a few months ago when she reportedly started favouring Deepa Bhatt, a non-member who was associated with Shakti Vahini, a team, several Commission members alleged, she chose to keep track of the cases. Members said Bhatt soon started attending to the cases, a responsibility restricted only to members.

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Bajpai, however, rubbished all allegations of casteism and called it internal politicking. She countered that the members are barely bothered about the Commission8217;s role and were interested only in personal tours to the districts.

When contacted, Alpana Bajpai, too denied the charges. 8216;8216;They should be asking the chairperson about anything, whether written or oral. I have been appointed as the law officer since I am a legal expert and a registered lawyer. I am not a part of the politics,8217;8217; she said, blaming infighting and politics between the members instead.