Akhilesh Yadav Government brazens it out
Even before the thousands who were displaced during the September violence in Muzaffarnagar could return to their homes, that district in Uttar Pradesh is once again on fire. In fact, Wednesday's communal clash is only the latest addition to a long list of more than a 100 riots that have erupted under the watch of the Samajwadi Party Government in the State in less than two years. The irony of this cannot be overstated, given that not just the ruling party in the State but also the Congress which leads the Government at the Centre, both claim to stand for secular values. In fact, even after this latest bout of communal violence, Uttar Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav had the gall to claim on Thursday that around the country, only a non-BJP, non-Congress coalition of supposedly secular parties (such as his Samajwadi Party of course) could rein in communal forces. That his statement must be viewed against the political imperatives generated by the 2014 general election goes without saying. Equally importantly, it also lays bare the fact that neither Mr Yadav nor the Samajwadi Party has cared to learn any lessons from the September riots. Instead, they continue to play with fire, despite being burnt by dangerous brand of communal politics that they peddle.
Prima facie evidence suggests that the Wednesday night clash which claimed at least three lives in the Budhana area of Muzzafarnagar are an extension of the September riots. Those involved in the fighting were residents of the two villages that were affected by the previous spate of violence, and it seemingly took just one vicious rumour to inflame passions. But this is not surprising. The September riots in Muzaffarnagar, in which more than 60 people died and thousands were rendered homeless, were one of the worst instances of communal conflagration in recent memory, and it only served to deepened social faultlines. The matter was made worse by an apathetic and inefficient police force whose hands were firmly tied by the State's blatantly partisan political establishment. In fact, even after the riots, precious little has been done to bring the perpetrators to book. And as if that wasn’t enough, even during Wednesday's clash, there were lapses on the part of police in containing the incident, as the Uttar Pradesh police chief himself has acknowledged. All of this put together has severely damaged lucknow's credibility. The people have lost faith in the State machinery and they feel vulnerable. Cynical politicians are possibly hoping to use the tools of minority appeasement to leverage this social tension into votes. But they are mistaken — just because the bleeding has been stopped, does not mean that the wounds have healed. And let there be no doubt that the people will punish those who inflicted the wounds in the first place.