BJP after winning the all-important state of UP made a seemingly controversial choice as the CM. Nevertheless, CM Yogi has been in the news for all the right reasons from taking on the Cheating Mafia to enforcing strict directives to babus. ‘Anti Romeo squads’ and farmer waiver were some significantly path breaking decisions taken by the state govt. UP on the other hand has been a caste and communally sensitive state which has seen riots and law order issue since time immemorial. Today the grim situation in Saharanpur has brought back the focus on violence. And unquestionably, CM Yogi will be in the spotlight of the mainstream media.
Saharanpur located in the west UP has seen clashes before in 2014 between Muslims and the Sikhs. This time, Rajputs and the Dalits are seen clashing over issues and asserting dominance over one another.
The upper and lower caste fight is the worst of its kind to hit UP since CM Yogi assumed control.
The pandemonium erupted in April. The Ambedkar Shobha Yatra held by Dalits was allegedly targeted by the Rajputs. This caused the Dalits to retaliate and the spate of violence has seen cycles with the latest rioting taking two lives. The district is mired by communal differences and is showing bitter inter caste bickering in Saharanpur which may spread to other areas. The impact of the clashes has led to one police post being torched by the mob. The local intelligence was caught unawares and houses have been set on fire. Another aspect to the Saharanpur riots is the role of the BSP in inciting them. BSP and Mayawati has been smarting over a monumentally symbolic defeat in assembly polls where the existence of BSP as a party to reckon with seems to have perished forever. There have been serious allegations that BSP under its conduits encouraged the Dalits to take on upper caste Rajputs for political gain and mileage. Interestingly, no local body elections have taken place in this district for the past ten years and perhaps that has added fuel to the fire as political parties are trying to capitalize on the same.
The biggest challenge for CM Yogi Adityanath lies in controlling and confining the violence to the said district and not letting it spread to other parts. CM Yogi was quick to request the Home Ministry for central forces. In response, four companies of Rapid Action Force were sent to Saharanpur with immediate effect. CM Yogi has also suspended top officials over the clashes after expressing disappointment over their inability to stop the violence.
CM Yogi suspended the district magistrate and the superintendent of police. They also transferred DIG and divisional commissioner.
A new team has been announced and hope expressed that the district will limp back to normalcy within 24 hours. Internet was also suspended and section 144 was imposed. The UP Govt also denied permission to Mayawati to visit one of the highly sensitive areas affected by the riots. This step may have been important in curbing politicization of this issue.
CM Yogi has already termed this incident as a ploy or conspiracy by the BSP to ferment trouble in the state. The state govt is also planning to arrest Chandrashekar of the Bhim sena of the Dalits which reportedly has played a role in inciting and pushing the region into its volatility.
Over the spate of this violent episodes, around 40 people have been arrested according to the Union ministry who has sought report from the state govt over the violence. An effective strategy has been taken by state govt officials called the ‘outreach program’. With angers running high, these team members are going door to door with the aim of communicating to people of both communities that whatever happened was bad, but the government will not tolerate more violence.
Although effective necessary steps have been taken by the Yogi govt to curb the Saharanpur violence, the media and the opposition is raising questions over promises made by CM Yogi in ensuring law and order in the state.
As a matter of fact, the same hounding by the press was invisible when SP leaders had failed to control violence in Muzzafarnagar. The glaring difference in these two riot incidents is the approach by the respective govts to further stop the violence from being politicized. Comparisons can also be subtly drawn between Saharanpur and Gujarat 2002 where despite taking the necessary steps, vilification campaigns by vested groups have continued over decade and years. The same so called intellects will try to find faults in CM Yogi’s administration which has functioned splendidly so far in governance and enforcement.
It is important to note when riots in Malda happened, the mainstream media was conspicuously silent. Mamata Banerjee too had promised law and order but was never questioned. On the contrary, the riots there were bigger and more impactful. The same situation was witnessed in Odisha. Hyper ventilation with respect to BJP ruled states and hibernation in lieu with non BJP governed states is the crux of the biased leftist media. This cherry picking of only CM Yogi for vilification will give violence in Saharanpur more coverage than others. Nevertheless, CM Yogi as an able administrator is expected to pass this litmus test and hopefully the ongoing caste conflagration in the district will come to a peaceful end.