LUCKNOW: The Kunda violence and killing of deputy superintendent of police Zia-ul-Haq is only a glimpse of the criminalisation of politics in Uttar Pradesh. Haq's brutal murder refreshed the memories of equally cruel killing of Public Works Department executive engineer Manoj Gupta in Auraiya in 2008 by then BSP MLA Shekhar Tiwari. Both paid with their life for not obeying orders of their political masters. While Gupta refused to pay the money demanded by the MLA, Haq was killed allegedly for refusing to drop investigation against people responsible for recent riots in the area.
However, political analysts pointed out that all the political parties harbour 'criminals and corrupt'. If Congress party is responsible for introducing 'criminals' in politics, the BJP made them ministers. And, the SP and BSP have also been following the similar lines. But the good part, they added, is that due to penetration of media in interior localities, now incidents are being highlighted, forcing governments to take action. Former chief minister Mayawati was forced to sack the 'killer' MLA, the present incumbent Akhilesh Yadav had no option but to seek minister's resignation and recommend CBI probe.
But the trend is dangerous. At present, of the 403 MLAs in UP assembly, 189 have criminal cases against them. Of these 189, around 98 MLAs have serious charges like rape, murder, dacoity and kidnapping. The SP gave tickets to 199 candidates with criminal record in 2012 assembly polls, of which 111 won. And, out of these 111, 28 have been made ministers. The BJP fielded 144 such candidates in the assembly elections, of which 25 won. The Congress put up 120 candidates with criminal record, of which 13 became MLA and the BSP fielded 131 candidates with criminal record, of which 29 won.
While it is true that some criminal cases against politicians are 'political in nature', lodged during agitations and movements by the government, it's also a fact that mafia and gangsters use terror to win elections. In fact, mafia-turned-politicians control the economics and politics of their constituency. They decide who will get government contracts and who will content panchayat elections. They use clout in the government for posting officers of their choice in key position in their area. They project themselves as Robin Hood but quell any revolt with iron hand," said political observer Ashish Kumar Awasthi.
Records show that criminalisation of the politics or politicisation of criminals started in 1970s with the Congress taking help of mafia to 'influence' poor voters for winning elections. Later, when these elements demanded their pound of flesh, the party introduced people like Hari Shankar Tiwari (Gorakhpur), Akhilesh Singh (Rae Bareli) and Amarmani Tripathi (Gorakhpur) in politics by giving election tickets. Tiwari won as Congress candidate in 1982 and Singh in 1993. Tripathi was Tiwari's henchman at one point of time and started his political career from east UP with Communist Party but later joined Congress.
Besides promoting communal politics, BJP was first to make tainted MLAs as ministers in the state. Kalyan Singh in 1996-97 gave ministerial berths to 12 MLAs with criminal record and had support of 60-odd MLAs with criminal past. The tainted MLAs played a major role in splitting BSP and help Singh form the government. The BJP engineered defection after BSP withdrew support from the coalition government. Later, when BJP came to power again in 2000 with Rajnath Singh as chief minister, the party had support of around 70 MLAs with criminal records, of which 18 were made ministers.
Besides mafia, the SP also gave tickets to dacoits like Phoolan Devi in elections. SP MLAs and leaders with criminal antecedents played a vital role in 1995 state guest house case in which BSP chief Mayawati was attacked and several MLAs of her party were abducted to save the Mulayam Singh Yadav government. The incident happened when Maya withdrew support to SP government in the state. From August 2003 to May 2007, Mulayam government had support of 81 MLAs having criminal records. Over two dozen ministers in the government including Raja Bhaiya had criminal record.
BSP Supremo Mayawati also has no reservation in inducting politicians with criminal record. In 2009, she went on to describe mafia-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari as messiah of poor. In 2007, Mayawati fought and won assembly elections on law and order issue. However, in the same elections she fielded 131 candidates with criminal cases, of which 63 won including 33 MLAs with two or more cases. Several were facing trials in cases like, murder, rape, dacoity, rioting and kidnapping. Ten ministers had criminal record. The list included gangsters like Anand Sen Yadav and Badshah Singh.
"Interestingly, a few mafia like Hari Shankar Tiwari got ministerial berth in almost all the governments since between 1997-2007. In 2002, the number tainted MLAs were in majority in the 403 member assembly. Had this MLAs formed a party, they would have their own government. Every party says nobody is guilty unless proven in the court. But so far Udai Bhan Singh, is the only politician in UP, to be disqualified after conviction in a murder case in 2005. Since conviction is rare and parties prefer winnable candidates, 'criminals' continue to rule the state," said political analyst Deepak Mishra.
The Patnaik committee, constituted in December 2005 on the directions of the high court, in its report submitted in April 2006 had also revealed that entire government administration was under the grip of mafia-politicians nexus. It said that organised crime started in eastern UP in late 70s with the availability of railway contracts, irrigation and canal projects, collection of octroi, toll taxes, illegal mining, smuggling coal and drugs and today mafia can be found in every sphere from government contracts to real state, education, forestey and even religious. It has crippled police and bureaucracy.
The report further stated that these mafia subvert laws, precedents, rules and regulations and managed to acquire wealth, fame, power and women. The report admitted that mafia finance politicians and offer big money to government servants to bend rules. Upright officers are hounded, harassed and transferred. The report recommended no police security to a person, even if he is a MLA or MP, if found directly or indirectly involved in any criminal activity. The report recommended several other measures to break the political-mafia nexus in the state. However, it is gathering dust.
UP elections
Tainted MLAS
1984 35
1989 50
1991 130
1993 140
1996 152
2002 207
2007 160
2012 189