Mulayam Rule: Countdown Has Started

With most of the major rival political parties openly coming in favour of President's Rule in the UP, guns have finally been drawn at Mulayam Singh Yadav and his Samajwadi Party's three year rule in the State. The matter has reached the attention of Honourable President of India and it is a matter of days before a decision is taken in this regard.
Naturally, it is a cause of concern for Mulayam, already undergoing a fierce litmus test for credibility owing to escalating law and order problems in the State and charges of rigging during the recently concluded civic elections. Incumbency too is a major factor. Naturally, Mulayam would love to have the elections conducted under his own Government rather than under the rule of a Governor, against whom several duels, though thankfully restricted to verbal assaults only, have already been fought.
Consequently, Mulayam has gone on offensive. He and his loyal aides have not only opened a front against TV Rajeshwar Rao, the present Governor, but also dared the UPA Government to enforce President's Rule in the State. "If the President's Rule is imposed in the State, the UPA Government at Centre too would crumble," said the CM in a rally recently. Speaking to party workers, Mulayam alleged that some political parties took recourse to the Raj Bhawan to oust him, after they got a humiliating defeat in the recently concluded elections. These Governments should understand that elections are not won, courtesy the bureaucracy, Mulayam said. If that is so why does Mulayam want to have the elections conducted when he is in command of the State's bureaucracy? The recent suspension of Kanpur SSP has given the signals to the bureaucracy that it would not tolerate if they went against the party's objectives. This is to be remembered that rumour mongers are having a field day after suspension of the SSP and they are citing a link between his suspension with the incidents related to the defaming of Dr. Ambedkar's statue in Kanpur and the subsequent events that followed. The State administration has given a different reason though. Not just Congress alone, but BSP and BJP too have aimed their salvos at ouster of Mulayam. BSP leader Mayawati has even met the President in this regard and has claimed that free and fair elections cannot be held in the State if Mulayam remains in power. She labeled the accusation that lot of unfair practices were used during the recently concluded civic elections and even called the SP rule in the State as jungle raj where criminals roamed freely.
Consequently, Mulayam has gone on offensive. He and his loyal aides have not only opened a front against TV Rajeshwar Rao, the present Governor, but also dared the UPA Government to enforce President's Rule in the State. "If the President's Rule is imposed in the State, the UPA Government at Centre too would crumble," said the CM in a rally recently.
Speaking to party workers, Mulayam alleged that some political parties took recourse to the Raj Bhawan to oust him, after they got a humiliating defeat in the recently concluded elections. These Governments should understand that elections are not won, courtesy the bureaucracy, Mulayam said.
If that is so why does Mulayam want to have the elections conducted when he is in command of the State's bureaucracy? The recent suspension of Kanpur SSP has given the signals to the bureaucracy that it would not tolerate if they went against the party's objectives. This is to be remembered that rumour mongers are having a field day after suspension of the SSP and they are citing a link between his suspension with the incidents related to the defaming of Dr. Ambedkar's statue in Kanpur and the subsequent events that followed. The State administration has given a different reason though.
Not just Congress alone, but BSP and BJP too have aimed their salvos at ouster of Mulayam. BSP leader Mayawati has even met the President in this regard and has claimed that free and fair elections cannot be held in the State if Mulayam remains in power. She labeled the accusation that lot of unfair practices were used during the recently concluded civic elections and even called the SP rule in the State as jungle raj where criminals roamed freely.
Congress's Sri Prakash Jaiswal too has gone on to attack the UP Government recently. The same feelings were aired by Salman Khursheed on his recent visit to Lucknow. And BJP's Rajnath Singh and Kalyan Singh too have voiced their concerns and demanded the President's Rule. Clearly, an atmosphere is being built against SP and Mulayam so that playing the role of a victim Mulayam does not end up gaining from the imposition of President's Rule. Mulayam's position is weak because neither of the major parties in the State is on his side. Realizing this, he has gone on to attack the Governor's office directly and has even asked the President to call the Governor back. He said that UP was 26 th in terms of crime and the situation in several States ruled by Congress and BJP was worse. Further he talked of a nefarious link between the Governor and the State Home Minister, who hails from UP.
All said and done, Mulayam too knows that the days are numbered for him as the Chief Minister. The only thing that he wishes to do now is to try to get the maximum benefit out of the situation. The dictat to oust him could be issued any moment now!

Crosser:
BJP is readying itself to make corruption the main issue. It is going to open the Front in Parliament as well in State Assembly. Of course, the matter would also be fought on streets. The internal assessment of the BJP think-tank is that if they are able to portray this issue properly, they would gain at least 20-25 seats in the forthcoming Assembly elections.

Box:
President Rule may prove to be a blessing in disguise for Mulayam. All the misdeeds and shortcomings of the three-year rule may get overshadowed when Mulayam and his party men will play the victims. What’s more, if a major incident of law and order happens during the President Rule, Mulayam will get an opportunity to start agitation against the Governor, who has already faced attack from Mulayam on several occasions in the past.

‘Jan Morcha and allies to oust Mulayam’: NCP President

Nationalist Congress Party may not be a strong entity in Uttar Pradesh. But the presence of several top leaders from Jan Morcha and left parties in the recently concluded State level political conference reveal that through standing united, this front is readying its salvos to give a major jolt to main contending parties, BJP, SP and BSP. In an exclusive interview here, Prof. Ramesh Dixit, President of Nationalist Congress Party, UP spoke to Aziz Haider regarding the game plan that is being readied for implementation.

HTE: Other than your alliance, which is a coming together of small entities, you will be fighting against all three major parties, SP, BSP and BJP. How do you hope to perform well?
Prof. Ramesh Dixit (PRD): BJP is the party which, when it was in power, did the most unique thing in the annals of world history. On their instigation, religious structure of a religion was razed to the ground. The role of the Government is to protect and not to destruct. When this party is in power in Gujarat, thousands of the civilians of the State are slaughtered. We have to stop BJP from coming to power, at all cost.
Our experience is that after ’92, BJP was never in position to form the government on its own. The voters of UP have rejected the BJP. Thereafter, it tried to enter power through backdoor, by riding on the elephant of BSP. Our view is that BJP leadership has lost its reputation in UP.
In the recent elections, BSP did not field his candidates. Resultantly, BJP seemed to have gained. BSP is once again eyeing to make a coalition government with BJP, as it has done on three occasions in the past. People will not bring BJP but it would seek power through holding the tail of BSP.
HTE: You have reservations against SP as well?
PRD: When SP came to power, we were very happy. All the secular parties of India were responsible for bringing SP to power. Three years have passed. All those promises that they had done while coming to power, none of them has been fulfilled. All ministers are talking a different language. Moreover, it is the first time that a parallel organization named UP Vikas Parishad has been made. Development is the work of ministers and Chief Ministers. My experience is that the moneyed class has never worked for the betterment of the society. The Vikas Parishad comprises the dhanna seth (moneyed people) of the country and their stooges and dalals. I do not know what Amitabh Bachchan is doing in that. This Parishad is being paid from the State’s exchequer. The filthy rich of the country are being made richer. This is the agenda of the SP. If that is not so why is it that there is nobody from minorities, dalits or women community in this Parishad.
There is a big piece of non-cultivable land from Lucknow to Shahjahanpur but that has not been given. Rich and cultivable land is being given to them at pittance. This Parishad is aimed at developing these moneyed people further.
HTE: But what about the good deeds done by Mulayam Singh Yadav?
PRD: Mulayam’s role in attempting to safeguard Babri Masjid was commendable. But since then he has done nothing for the Muslims. He gave the State in the hands of those who consider the State as their personal fiefdom. People are angry over this.
The language that is used during his rallies is the language of the underworld. We want law and order to return to the State. We want people to live in piece. We do not want arms to be given to goondas. And we want people to move on streets without fear. All this is not possible under his rule.

“Congress is not working unitedly”: Jagdambika Pal

Jagdambika Pal, one time Chief Minister (though only for a brief period) has had the good and bad of politics. A Congressman, he left the party to form Loktantrik Congress Party, became a minister in Kalyan Singh’s BJP Government, was sacked from there only to be sworn in as Chief Minister of the State, but was duped by long-time aide and friend Naresh Aggarwal who joined hands with the SP while Pal returned to the folds of the Congress once again along with his supporters.
Within Congress too, Jagdambika Pal has savoured bouquets and brickbats. He launched a scathing attack on the BJP leadership for raking up the foreign origin issue of Sonia Gandhi and on another occasion he was dismissed from the Presidentship of UPCC by none else but Sonia Gandhi herself and replaced with Salman Khurshid. In a one-on-one interview here, Jagdambika Pal opens his heart to Aziz Haider of Hi Time Express.

The first question that was put to Pal was why, despite several successful rallies by Congress in Kanpur, Lucknow and Rai Bareilly, this was not reflected in the votes the party secured during the recently concluded civic elections. In response Pal said that none of the central leaders including Rahul Gandhi came to campaign during these elections. Though leaders belonging to UP, like Sri Prakash Jaiswal, Dr. Akhilesh Das and he himself did canvass, not even one of the 14 CMs that Congress has at present came to UP. In contradiction, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and other senior leaders of various parties were out there in open.
Secondly Pal states categorically that the position of Congress has improved tremendously during these elections. “Results show this,” says he, “the fact that we lost only by 4500 votes in Lucknow when 34000 votes were declared invalid shows that we had won but were made to lose. We have gone to court, the writ petition has been approved, if the court allows recount, we will win.”
However, Pal rues the fact that Congress is not working as a unit, as it should. The will have to work more cohesively at State level if they are to give better results. He also cited Sonia Gandhi’s endeavours in this regard by appointing Zonal Incharges, which helped increase the Congress’s graph. “The manner in which SP misused the bureaucracy and made them work like party workers is out there in open,” he said. “Next day after the results were announced, 37 bureaucrats were transferred and this practice continues till this day. All those SPs, COs and others who worked for fair elections were punished. The bureaucracy is being politicized by the SP.”
Regarding the celebrations of SP government on completion of 3 years in power, Pal says that BJP spent over 600 crores on feel good and India Shining campaigns but the people of this country showed them the way out and Congress came to power when none had least expected it. The civic elections in UP were the semi-finals. Results show that SP has lost this semi-final. “They are boasting that they have got good support in the elections. If that is so, there were at least 600 seats on stake in the nagar nigams, nagar panchayats and town areas. Why are they not giving the number of seats they have won? I can count 25 districts where they were routed; these include Devaria, Gorakhpur, Siddharthnagar, Basti, Faizabad, Ghonda, Barabanki. They have not won in Kannauj, Farrukhabad, Mainpuri as well. Neither have they performed in Western UP. If out of 70, they have won 10-20 regions like Unnao, Etawah, this cannot be called a win.”
Pal is of view that Muslims are extremely angry with the SP for doing nothing for them and hobnobbing with the BJP. They started looking at BSP but Mayawati too has antagonized them by calling them fundamentalists. “This statement reveals her mentality. She is hoping to form a Government once again with the help of BJP, as she has done on three past occasions. More and more Muslims are coming toward the Congress,” he said.
Regarding bickering within his own party, Pal says that the PCC President should take everybody along. When I was the PCC President, voices were raised against me from within the PCC. On the other hand, I have always tried to give support to the PCC.”
Regarding the statement of Sonia Gandhi, a day prior to his ouster as PCC President, when she had said, “I find it dismal. I have been disappointed by the condition of the Congress party?” Pal is of opinion that Congress has moved from that dismal state to the mainframe. He expresses confidence that in the next election, UP Congress will be one of the potential parties, fighting to form a government in the State.
To a question, whether it was time for Rahul Gandhi to lead the party, so as to minimize the internal differences, Pal feels that the time has not come for that. “Now that the elections are near, they should be fought under the present PCC leadership only,” he said adding further: “I am a man of organization. Rahul ji will definitely campaign. But now when it is time to finalize the names of candidates for each constituency, a change at top leadership will mean that the incumbent will require at least six months to gear up.”

One area where you erred, Hon’ble Mr. VC

In an interview with Hi Time Express, Atul Kumar Anjaan, former president of the Lucknow University and now a senior leader said: “In a democracy everybody must be given rights. Student unions are a nursery of democratic process. Let’s not depoliticize them! But at the same time, democratic process must also give responsibility to behave in a democratic and responsible manner. Hooliganism, goondaism and rowdiness are not desired in a democratic society and especially among the student community. Bombs and pistols have no place in the university. Instead of bombs and revolvers, student leaders should go with ideas to their colleagues. That would take the political process further.”
He further said, “In a democracy we may not agree with our superiors, our teachers. But paying respect to teachers is akin to paying respect to parents.”
If there is one student leader who stands up to the ideals described by Atul Kumar Anjaan, he is Shantanu Sharma. In a university where corruption, rowdiness and criminal cases appear to be prerequisite to qualify you as a student leader, Shantanu Sharma appears to be a genuine leader who is serving politics for the welfare of the society. Naturally, he has ideas and he differs with his seniors, including the VC, on some issues, but he has always voiced his views in a peaceful manner.
Shantanu Sharma, a candidate for President’s post, is a Science Graduate and has done his PG in Geology. He jumped into politics after completion of law degree and fought the election for the first time in 2003. Despite facing a negative atmosphere and abysmal scenario in student politics he is doing his job of public service and student welfare.
To a question that he may have opted other platform for public service and channelise his energy, he answered that, “Politics also need some genuine workers who can work without selfishness. I hope that my honesty will bring remarkable changes in society.” Sharma said that he is a follower of Gandhian principles and want to bring changes in the society. He joined politics accidentally, but is now taking it seriously.
That teachers as well as local police station and certain journalists covering education beat too have only good words to describe him is our justification for coming up in his defense. Says Dr. VD Mishra, Head of Sociology Department, LU, under whose guidance Shantanu Sharma is doing his research in Sociology: “Despite all illicit activities that student politicians resort to, this student has kept himself away from all the bad activities. I appreciate his honest efforts in active politics. When asked why instead of his honesty, he does not get that kind of support, Dr. Mishra said that every effort is not noticed by the public; it takes long time to get noticed and make significant changes. He expressed his optimistic view that his student will be successful in his venture.
Dr. Anshumali Sharma, Reader of Geology, K.K.C. too spoke in favour of Shantanu Sharma. He said, “He is doing endeavor for the welfare of masses. His efforts will evoke a decision-making and thinking process in public.” He revealed that Shantanu was also involved in social welfare activities like organising Medical Camps, Polio camps and is a member of Human Unity Welfare Society. When questioned about the allegation he is facing Dr. Sharma said that charges which he is facing are not serious allegations; administration found student leaders involved in creating ruckus and booked him also. So, his personal view is that these allegations could not lower down his potential.
Several other sources that we spoke to too acclaimed in chorus that he is an honest leader who has not involved himself in the awful politics of campus.
In this contest, the views of VC Prof R.P. Singh, who has expelled Sharma alongwith 82 other student leaders, is that he too is involved in politics. However, the V-C agreed that he was not aggressively involved in negative political activities until now though he has been booked for creating ruckus in the campus after the Lyngdoh proposals. Singh said if he is guilty, he should be punished.
However, if we go by Atul Anjaan’s view, as per which student union is a nursery of democratic process, it means that depoliticizing the campus can never be a solution. Students cannot be separated from issues around them. Their voices cannot be forced into silence. They have right to express their views in public. Only thing is that they should do so peacefully. And Shantanu Sharma is one who adheres to this principal.
As Atul Anjaan said, “Certain students may have had a negative track record. That does not mean that all student politicians are criminals. Some teachers have committed wrongs in the past. In Meerut University, teachers asked primary students to evaluate the copies. That does not mean all teachers should be thrown out.”