https://organiser.org/wp-content/uploads/speaker/post-170699.mp3?cb=1682398575.mp3 In 2017, Yogi Adityanath inherited Uttar Pradesh, where Mafia Raj, meaning the fiefdom of goons, was institutionalised in the social, business and political fabric of Uttar Pradesh. Akhilesh, his father Mulayam and Mayawati nurtured these mafias for their political goals. The goons who should have been behind bars were walking in the Assembly and the Parliament on the tickets of Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). The lawbreakers were promoted to become lawmakers by these two parties. During the SP and BSP Governments, law and order in Uttar Pradesh were marred by these three characteristics – (1) An insufficient police force – only 1.5 lakhs positions of the sanctioned 3 lakhs police positions in the State – were filled by SP and BSP Governments (2) Bahubali-karan of Politics – the likes of Mukhtar Ansari, Atiq Ahmed, Azam Khan, Vikas Dubey and Gayatri Prajapati were moving in the corridors of power instead of jails (3) Culture of turning a blind eye to criminals, guided by Mulayam Singh Yadav’s philosophy – Ladke Hain, Galti Ho Jati Hai (Boys will be Boys). How Samajwadi Party Nurtured Atiq Ahmed In the 1990s, SP and BSP were on a talent hunt for mafias to be leaders in their parties. SP saw a potential big leader in Atiq Ahmed and tested him with a task to attack BSP leader Mayawati in the in-famous guest house incident in 1995. Though BJP leader Brahm Dutt Dwivedi saved Mayawati and foiled Atiq Ahmed’s plan to eliminate her, Samajwadi Party rewarded Atiq with an Assembly ticket from their party in 1996 from the Allahabad West. Samajwadi Party and Atiq’s kinship grew thick from then and in 2004, Samajwadi Party sent this mafia to the temple of democracy, the Parliament of India, from the Phulpur seat. This is the same Phulpur, from where ex-Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru reached the Parliament. Mulayam’s Patronage Under Mulayam Singh Yadav’s protection as the Chief Minister of UP, Atiq enjoyed complete impunity. So much so that in 2005, when his brother Ashraf lost against BSP’s Raju Pal in a by-poll on the Allahabad West seat, Atiq Ahmed got him shot dead in broad daylight by sending more than two dozen gunmen. Ahmed was named and arrested as the main accused in this case, but Mulayam’s police put up a weak case and got him out on bail. Beneficial for Atiq’s Political Masters In 2012, Akhilesh became the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and soon started to control the party. Akhilesh continued Samajwadi party’s love for mafias and gave Lok Sabha ticket to Atiq again in 2014 from the Shrawasti seat. Thanks to the Modi wave and the people of Uttar Pradesh, Atiq lost the elections. In his four-decades criminal career, Atiq wore more than 100 cases against him as a badge of honour – cases of murder, attempt to murder, rioting, land grabbing and kidnapping. His fear was so widespread that in none of these serious cases, he was sentenced over these forty years, as many judges recused themselves from his cases and witnesses either turned hostile or were eliminated. It was only in 2023, under the Yogi Adityanath Government that the UP Police was able to produce evidence and witnesses. That is why the Court sentenced him for Life Imprisonment for one of the many cases against him. It’s unfortunate that due to a procedural lapse by the UP Police, he got shot in police custody recently and many of the criminal secrets of his political masters got buried with him. There is no prize for guessing that who would benefit from his death and who was uncomfortable with him revealing his criminal history to the UP Police. How Foreign Media Reported on the Killing of Atiq Ahmed “Atiq Ahmed was “Robin Hood, a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde type of character” who helped poor people, paying for weddings & school uniforms, gave money during Eid. But this persona unravelled with mounting accusations of heinous crimes” – Geeta Pandey, journalist, BBC “Former Indian lawmaker slain live on TV while in police custody, state restricts gatherings” – Reuters “Ex-MP Atiq Ahmed, brother shot dead on live TV in India” – Al Jazeera “Atiq Ahmed was “Robin Hood, a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde type of character” – BBC Journalist “Killing of jailed lawmaker on live TV puts spotlight on India’s extrajudicial violence” – The Washington Post “Former MP and his brother shot dead on live TV in India” – The Guardian Today under the Yogi Government, Atiq’s illegal properties worth hundreds of crores are seized and bulldozed and his wide network of gangsters are busted and dusted. From Mulayam’s blanket impunity to criminals as in Ladke Hain Galti Ho Jati Hai to Yogi’s hard stand on the criminals as in Mafia Ko Mitti Mein Mila Dunga, UP has seen a 180 degree shift to its culture of political patronage to hardened criminals. How Samajwadi Party Stood Strong with Terrorists and Criminals Like a loyal colleague, UP’s ex-Chief Minister, Akhilesh Yadav is very uncomfortable with the crackdown on Atiq’s illegal empire. Akhilesh tweeted that by the encounter of Atiq’s son Asad, wanted in Umesh Pal’s murder case, Yogi Government is spoiling the harmony (bhai-chara) in the community. His uncle Ram Gopal Yadav gave a strong cover fire to Atiq, and almost declared him innocent, saying that that it’s just the media trial that painted Atiq as a gangster. Law and Order under six Years of Yogi Adityanath Government Yogi Government has done 10,933 operations against the dreaded criminals and mafias UP Police arrested 23,348 criminals 186 criminals got killed in police encounters, out of which 126 are Hindus and 57 are Muslims This is not the first time that Akhilesh Yadav and his party brazenly defended criminals for their minority vote bank. In its 2012 election manifesto along with anti-constitutional religion-based reservation for Muslims, Samajwadi Party promised that Muslim youth, jailed on charges of terror acts, would be released and given adequate compensation. And … Continue reading Uttar Pradesh Law and Order: How Yogi Govt destroyed the institutionalisation of Mafias in State politics