Durga Shakti Nagpal. The suspension of a young IAS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre has brought to the fore the fact that religion, caste and criminals still dominate ourage old politics. Uttar Pradesh has always been known as a powerhouse of clout. Some of the best leaders of our nation came from this very state. India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, the peacekeeper Lal Bahadur Shastri, the very controversial but brilliant Indira Gandhi, the poet among leaders Atal Bihari Vajpayee… the list goes on. That it is important to win UP to win Delhi is a well-known fact. An honest officer being suspended for doing her job is a shocking instance of power-play politics in Uttar Pradesh. Sad as it may be, it is a sad example of how criminals and selfish political goals are sucking the life out of honesty and morality.
The Uttar Pradesh government said Nagpal was suspended because she ordered the demolition of a mosque wall, which – according to the politicians – may have lead to communal disturbances. But the facts tell a different story altogether.
So here’s how the events actually played out. An FIR was lodged against a Mr. Khari – a person who was allocated rights to mine in the Yamuna region, but not until he paid the deposit he was supposed to pay the government. A police team was dispatched to arrest Khari – who turned out to be absconding. Soon after, Khari got a stay on the arrest warrant from Allahabad High Court. Just two days after this, the suspension order for Durga Shakti Nagpal rolled in on the pretext of the mosque wall being demolished.
Take note of the two important links in the story – first one being the mafia rule and its relationship with politics. The second one is the importance of the Muslim vote bank in Uttar Pradesh.
Dig into the Election Commission’s database, and you’ll discover that 48 % of the politicians in Samajwadi Party have a criminal record. That said, the IAS officer’s suspension shouldn’t come across as big a shock to you.
Elections across the world are expensive affairs. The amount of money spent during elections is huge and the source of this income is almost always shady. The recent appeal of bringing the income source/s of political parties under the RTI Act is being vehemently opposed in the Parliament. Roles for criminals such as Khari are cut out at times like these – they provide these parties with lots of funds during elections.In return, they gain political immunity – you scratch my back, I scratch yours.
Ambedkaronce said, “It is not enough to be electors only, it is necessary to be law makers otherwise those who can be lawmakers will be the masters of those who can only be electors.”
The recent political equation has made Muslim votes quite relevant to winning Uttar Pradesh. The entire population of the state can be divided into four parts – the upper caste Hindus, the Muslims, the OBCs and the SC/STs. Going by the history of Uttar Pradesh, the BJP mainly had the votes of the upper caste Hindus. Samajwadi Party (SP) has had a huge base of OBC voters, while the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has always been voted for by the SC/ST community. But this equation seems to have gone through an evolution. Over the last few years, the upper caste Hindu votes are now flexible, and not easily predictable. Considering the effects of “Modimania” in recent times, the BJP is gaining strength in Uttar Pradesh again. This has led a lot of experts to believe that the Hindu vote just might go to the BJP this time around. This means Muslim votes will have a crucial role to play in government formation.
So, is the suspensionof Nagpal on grounds of the mosque wall being demolished actually a ploy to gain the Muslim vote? In all probability, yes.In spite of the sunni waqf board and the locals declaring that they never had any trouble with Durga Shakti Nagpal, the Uttar Pradesh government is simply not willing to cancel her suspension. This kind of politics will keep functioning till communities continue their infighting. Like a wise man once said, “Angrez chale gaye, divide-and-rule chhod gaye!”
Speaking of development and the eradication of corruption, the Lokpal Bill sounds like a joke once you know how things really work in this country. We talk about“India Shining”, and the very next moment, we’re voting for the friendly neighbourhood criminal. Mera Bhaarat Sachmuch Mahaan!
