The communal clashes in Muzaffarnagar demonstrate the indifference of the Uttar Pradesh Government and its sectarian politics
Political parties are playing with fire in the name of politics in Uttar Pradesh with an eye only on electoral gains. For them all is fair in elections. The recent communal clashes in Muzaffarnagar in which many people were killed is a classic example of how the indifference of the State administration in dealing with such violence, is manipulated by wily politicians to further their vote-bank politics. Otherwise, how does one explain the rioting and mayhem in areas where Muslims and Jats had lived in harmonyIJ The current Jat-Muslim divide seems to have been carefully scripted.
It is becoming increasingly clear that Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav is unable to rule the State. According to reports, the State witnessed sporadic communal violence frequently in the past year. The Muzaffarnagar clashes are only one of the 50 other communal clashes in recent times. With the Akhilesh Yadav-led Government’s image on the decline, the Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav is a worried man. His eyes set on the 2014 election, Mr Yadav is going all out to emerge as a king-maker.
As often happens, trivial personal issues set off clashes which if not dealt with firmly degenerate into full-fledged communal riots. What began as a scuffle over the eve-teasing of a Jat girl resulted in killing of a Muslim youth and two other Jat boys. Had the police acted tough the matter would have ended. But they registered cases only against the Jats. This disturbed the social alliance between the Jats and the Muslims.
The Jats and Muslims had voted in tandem so far. But these tensions have sharpened the differences between them, especially after the Bahu Beti Sammaan Bachao Mahapanchayat was organised by the Jats after the incident. The Jats are upset that a girl from their community has been ill-treated. The SP’s Muslim leadership led by Mr Azam Khan claims that the panchayat meeting was the reason for the flaring up of the communal tension.
There are various players in Uttar Pradesh who will lose or gain from the Muzaffarnagar violence. The SP and the BJP are hoping for a Hindu-Muslim polarisation to help them politically and electorally. Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav hopes to widen his base in the Muslim-dominated region while the BJP is gamble on a Hindu polarisation. The BJP is dreaming of the golden period of the 90s when it got 55 seats. The immediate impact of Muzaffarnagar incident could be an electoral benefit to both the ruling SP and the BJP.
The Congress, which won an unexpected 22 seats in the 2009 election, is also aiming for a revival and return to power. The Congress hopes that the people of the State might vote for it in the lok Sabha election, even if they prefer the regional parties for the Assembly poll.
On the other hand, Rashtriya lok Dal chief Ajit Singh is worried about the Jats, who have remained his staunch supporters. The RlD in alliance with the BJP won five lok Sabha seats in the 2009 poll, but switched to the Congress in the 2012 Assembly poll, winning nine seats.
With the Jats at the receiving end after the Muzaffarnagar riots, the RlD and the Congress may pay dearly in the 2014 poll. Mr Ajit Singh fears that the Jat community, which was led by his father Charan Singh, had remained loyal to the RlD but may now look elsewhere. The Jats, despite a mere six per cent votes, have considerable influence in determining the fate of several constituencies. The SP, which wants to expand its sphere of influence in the region, is looking at the minority votes. In Western Uttar Pradesh the Muslims hold sway in 13 lok Sabha constituencies. Mr Ajit Singh fears that he may lose the Jat support while the SP and the BJP may gain.
Unfortunately, a blame-game is going on between the various political players at the cost of innocent victims. Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati is blaming the SP Government, fearing that if the riots ‘help’ the SP and the BJP, it will be her party as well as the Congress, which will suffer a severe setback. That is why the Congress and the BSP are claiming that the whole thing is ‘match-fixing’ between the BJP and the SP.
The Muzaffarnagar incident should not be the beginning of such disharmony between the communities. The political parties should be careful and not allow this disaffection to persist. Else, it will prove to be counterproductive. The same is the case with the BJP. The party should bear in mind that any false step in its political strategy could boomerang.