‘Democracy in danger’ – Akhilesh and Mamata’s hackneyed cry

On Tuesday, former Uttar Pradesh CM Akhilesh Yadav was denied permission to speak at Allahabad University. The varsity administration forbade allowing any political leader to attend university program. In order to maintain the law and order situation, the Samajwadi Party Chief was denied entry into the campus premise, but instead of appreciating the administration for its quick maneuver, Akhilesh went on to play the victim card. The ‘procession of hypocrisy’ was soon joined by other ‘democracy in danger’ bards. However, the most ‘iconic’ one is the West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee.

Earlier, Akhilesh Yadav claimed that he was invited to the University for attending the oath-taking ceremony of students’ union. Samajwadi Party Chatra Sabha (student wing of the Samajwadi Party) is currently holding the university students’ union president post. The SP claimed that Akhilesh Yadav had been invited for the function by the students’ union president. Blaming the state government for the denial of permission, the former CM urged, “The government is afraid of oath-taking ceremony of a student leader and is stopping me at the airport to prevent me from visiting Allahabad”.

Akhilesh didn’t stop there and calling the action of the Yogi government as “remote control politics of two-and-a-half men”, he further blamed the UP CM of putting his house under surveillance.

Admits all the controversy, the Registrar of Allahabad University had written to Akhilesh Yadav’s personal secretary, Ganga Ram Yadav, informing him that politicians are not allowed for events at the university. However, Akhilesh Yadav was too keen to get some political mileage out of the situation that he put aside all the notices.

https://twitter.com/rishibagree/status/1095312525091057665

Moreover, pulling the state government into the matter is totally indigestible. The Yogi government had nothing to do with this and it was a direction of university administration. A noteworthy fact is that in 2015, Yogi Adityanath also refrained from entering into the campus premise for a similar event.

Taking a jibe at Akhilesh Yadav’s cliché politics, UP CM Yogi Adityanath stated, “The Samajwadi Party should refrain from its anarchist activities. Allahabad University said that Akhilesh Yadav’s visit may create law and order problem because of the dispute between student organisations. Hence, the government took this step”.

Finding no place to hide his move, Akhilesh Yadav went back to the rhetoric of ‘democracy is in danger’. Other flag bearers of ‘save democracy’ cabal soon joined him in his pursuit of ‘saving democracy’. Ironically enough, one of the loudest voices to ‘save democracy’ from the Yogi government was Mamata Banerjee whose track record in preserving democracy is well-known. After ‘upholding’ the democratic principles and values in her own state, the ‘beloved Didi’ sought out to the national capital for the welfare of the government by the people.

According to 16th U.S. President, Abraham Lincoln, democracy is the “government of the people, by the people, for the people”. However, Mamata, Akhilesh and other ‘dignitaries’ of the ‘save democracy forces’ seems to understand it as government of my people.