The long arm of the law finally reached Shrikant Tyagi but it took longer than it should have
The Yogi Adityanath Government’s order—to bulldoze the illegal structures the absconding politician Shrikant Tyagi had built outside his residence in Noida—will restore some faith in the system. It’s a case of better late than never, for Tyagi, who has reportedly been terrorising the residents of a posh housing society, claimed to be a leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (The BJP denies that he was ever a party member). The claim was loud and clear, complete with his photographs with important BJP leaders on his social media posts. Also loud was the message in parenthesis: don’t mess with me; I am well-connected. This was perhaps the reason that the local police and administration took little, if any, action against him and his shenanigans, including encroachments and violence, for a long time. Tyagi had occupied a part of the common area in front of his flat by constructing structures using pillars and tiles, despite objections raised by the residents’ welfare association. While the Uttar Pradesh Government must be lauded for acting against Tyagi, it must also be questioned as to how he could continue with his rowdy ways in the housing society for so long. After all, one of the key planks of the Yogi administration has been its ability to tame goons and mafia dons; and yet there was Tyagi in Noida—which is in the vicinity of the national capital and not in some faraway place like, say, Bundelkhand—who was not just intimidating the neighbours and violating all rules and regulations but also brazenly claiming to be a member of the ruling party. Would there have been any action had the video in which he is shown badmouthing and manhandling a woman not gone viral? The answer may not be very comforting.
The entire episode highlights four points. First and foremost, governance and maintaining law and order are reactive rather than proactive. Action should have been taken against him not after but before the video became viral. About half a dozen cops have been suspended on grounds of dereliction of duty; it’s a good decision. But even better would be efforts to bring about a system which precludes dereliction of duty in the first place. Second, sloganeering and rhetoric are not substitutes for statecraft and policing. Setting narratives, smart one-liners, and clever memes have their importance in politics, but to keep public opinion on their side—or at least not opposed to them—the powers that be have do something more substantive than continuous messaging. Third, social media, often blamed for a lot of bad things, can also help ensure justice. It was after all the viral video that led to action against Tyagi. And, finally, we come to… well, a cliché: the power of one. The guts and gumption of one woman will bring him to justice. The citizens of India need not shout or fight like Sunny Deol to get justice. They just have to take a stand.