Sengar episode once again highlights the perils of Yogi’s macho statecraft

Custodial death of a rape victim’s father is far beyond ordinary crime: It is indicative of a deeply criminalised polity

ajay

Ajay Singh | April 11, 2018


#Uttar Pradesh   #Unnao Rape Case   #Yogi Adityanath   #Yogi government   #Rape Victim  
Illustration: Ashish Asthana
Illustration: Ashish Asthana

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath can be singularly credited for borrowing the phrase, 'thok denge', from Bollywood flicks and introducing it right in the mainstream governance discourse.

The phrase is a Bollywood euphemism for eliminating somebody. Yogi used this expression last year ("Agar aparadh karenge to thok denge (if they commit crime, they will be bumped off"). He was sending what seemed like a stern message to criminals operating in Uttar Pradesh – either to mend their way or face the threat of being eliminated by the police. And the Uttar Pradesh administration, particularly the police, seemed to have internalised Yogi's message too literally.

The custodial killing of the father of a rape victim in Unnao is just the latest example of how governance gets brutalised when the state’s chief executive gives a carte blanche to the police to brand anybody a criminal and kill at will. Kuldeep Singh Sengar, a powerful Rajput legislator from the ruling BJP, ensured that the law enforcement agencies abetted the crime when his men carried out the killing of the man whose daughter had accused him, the legislator, of raping her. The police at best was a conspirator to the crime.

Monday’s incident is far beyond an ordinary crime. It is indicative of a deeply criminalised polity which has further worsened with the ascension of Yogi as chief minister. The reasons for this criminal conduct of the state is not far to seek. The Uttar Pradesh police have staged a series of dubious encounters in the past one year or so – ostensibly to eliminate criminals, thus assuming powers which are extrajudicial. And they are acting as a law unto themselves.

How else would one explain the killing of a hapless man whose family is the victim of a powerful legislator’s misdeeds? In normal circumstances, the legislator and his brother should have been arrested immediately after the woman accused them of molestation and rape. But Sengar was seen sauntering around the office of the chief minister and thumbing his nose at the rule of law by describing the rape victim and his family as "nichle istar ke log (low-level people)". Can any other rape accused be given such a liberty in a civilised society? (The MLA’s brother, Atul Singh Sengar, was arrested finally on Tuesday – only after the media cried foul.)

How has this situation come about? The fact that governance in the country’s largest state cares two hoots to be held accountable to the rule of law is a grim reality. What complicates the situation is the impression that Yogi is a Rajput chief minister who is incapable of taking along the diverse social groups. Given his saffron robe and his past utterances, Yogi did little to allay the apprehension of the Muslims. He rather reaffirmed it when he needlessly said that he would not celebrate Eid as he is a Hindu. Apart from the communal divide, Yogi does not appear to be astute enough to accommodate varied caste groups which formed a sizeable support base for the BJP in the 2017 assembly elections. This is very well reflected in the Yogi government’s penchant for picking up Rajput officers to be posted in prime positions in the administration and the police. This practice of running the government is not different from his predecessor Akhilesh Yadav’s style of functioning except for the fact that Yogi has introduced unfettered machismo in the statecraft.

It would have been instructive if Yogi had tried to look at the record of an earlier predecessor, VP Singh, who assumed the chief ministership of the state in the early eighties. The erstwhile Raja of Manda, soon after taking over the charge, vowed to end the menace of dacoits in the Chambal ravines and launched an aggressive muscular policy against brigands. VP Singh soon realised that his approach was counterproductive. The police operations proved to be much oppressive for OBCs and scheduled castes while dacoits continued to operate with impunity.

The Unnao incident must serve as a warning signal to the chief minister whose fascination for a macho state may prove to be equally counterproductive as it was for VP Singh. It would be good for the state and its people if Yogi realises sooner rather than later that the adherence to the rule of law is sine qua non for the evolution of a civilised and just society. The overt or covert protection of people like Sengar is a sure recipe for a chaos that will ultimately prove to be his undoing.


This comment has first appeared in FirstPost.com
 

Comments

 

Other News

“I pray to God that such an incident never happens in future”

Life is slowly limping back to normalcy in Bahanaga, a block headquarters town in Odisha’s Balasore district that witnessed one of the deadliest rail disasters of the century. Train operations have resumed as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has begun the probe into the accident that claimed

Gandhi’s Triumph over the Fear of Death

The Essential U. R. Ananthamurthy Edited by N. Manu Chakravarthy and Chandan Gowda Aleph Books, Rs 899, 312 pages

Bird walks for youngsters to be held across India

Early Bird and the Rainmatter Foundation have announced five bird walks, led by naturalists, across India on June 10. The walks, to be held in Agartala, Dehradun, Mysore, Panjim, and Tirupati early in the morning, are part of the Rainmatter Foundation’s Walking Lightly campaign, being observed throug

India celebrates Environment Day with thrust on Mission LiFE

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India organized the World Environment Day on Monday with a thrust on Mission LiFE. The concept of LiFE, i.e., Lifestyle for Environment was introduced by prime minister Narendra Modi at the World Leaders` Summit in Glasgow at COP26, when

Green banking: an emerging way forward

Green Banking is an initiative taken by the banks to promote environment-friendly practices and reduce carbon footprint of their activities. Green financing (a part of ‘Green Banking’) is a broad term that can refer to a financial investment flowing into sustainable development projects and ini

GST revenue in May clocks 12% y-o-y growth

The gross Good & Services Tax (GST) revenue collected in the month of May, 2023 is ₹1,57,090 crore of which CGST is ₹28,411 crore, SGST is ₹35,828 crore, IGST is ₹81,363 crore (including ₹41,772 crore collected on import of goods) and cess is ₹11,489 crore (including ₹1,057 crore collecte

Visionary Talk: Amitabh Gupta, Pune Police Commissioner with Kailashnath Adhikari, MD, Governance Now


Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter