Controversy makes politics in
Uttar Pradesh: a uncle and a nephew at war, politicians abusing each other and
alleged attempts to divide people made headlines as the state prepared for
elections.
Here are five controversies that made headlines:
Yadav family feud: Uncle vs
nephew vs father
The tussle for power in the first
family of Uttar Pradesh surpassed all controversies in the poll-bound state in
terms of its duration, intensity, and outcome. The feud came out in the open on
August 14 last year when in Mainpuri Shivpal Yadav threatened to quit claiming
“conspiracy” against him.
Next day in Lucknow, Mulayam took
Shivpal’s side and warned Akhilesh Yadav that the party will split if Shivpal
quits. Thereafter, there was no stopping the feud that saw tit-for-tat sackings
from the party organisation and the government. Mulayam sacked Akhilesh from
the state presidentship and installed Shivpal on the post. Akhilesh then sacked
Shivpal and several other ministers from his cabinet. There were open rebellion,
street protests and brawls.
Eventually, Akhilesh backed by
his other uncle – Ramgopal Yadav – took control of the party on January 1 this
year. Akhilesh was declared the national president, Shivpal was sacked from the
state presidentship, Amar Singh was expelled from the party, and the chief
minister distributed party tickets according to his wishes. The feud had the
long and dark shadow on the poll campaign of the party – Mulayam barely
campaigned, Shivpal campaigned only for himself.
Said an unsaid: donkeys
Chief minister Akhilesh Yadav
courted controversy when he asked actor Amitabh Bachchan not to advertise for
the donkeys of Gujarat. “I urge the biggest star of the century to stop
endorsing the donkeys of Gujarat,” Akhilesh said while addressing a rally in
Rae Bareli. He was referring to an ad in which Bachchan promotes tourism in
Gujarat, PM Narendra Modi’s home state.
The CM’s statement evoked strong reactions.
“We are in shock. Donkeys are as
important for our livelihood as cows are for Yadavs. The CM should consider
sentiments of the Prajapati community and take back his statement,” said
president of ‘Prajapati Samaj Sangharsh Samiti’, Rajan Singh.
Modi hit back at Akhilesh soon.
“I can work like a donkey for the nation. Akhilesh is afraid of donkeys of
Gujarat as donkeys are loyal to their masters ... Akhilesh should know when
Congress was in power as part of the UPA, it came out with postal stamps on
donkeys of Gujarat,” the PM said.
Barefoot politics
The Ansari brothers--famous for
their family’s contribution in India’s freedom movement and infamous for
Mukhtar Ansari’s tryst with crime--followed Mayawati’s household rules, walking
barefoot at her home in Lucknow when they merged their with the BSP on January
26. Mayawati reportedly was wearing slippers.
Fearing that the issue might
anger the Muslim community, Mayawati gave a clarification.
“My official residence – 13, Mall
Avenue – is also a memorial constructed to commemorate the contribution of BSP
founder Kansi Ram. It’s a sacred place revered by Dalits and followers of
Kanshi Ram. During the programmes organised by the BSP, people visit here to
pay obeisance to the Dalit icon. They walk barefoot inside the memorial and it
has been mandatory for all the visitors that they will not enter with shoes. I
have different sets of sandals for outside visits as well as for indoor. I do
not enter my residence with the sandals that are for outside visits.”
Divide, seek votes
BJP leader Adityanath triggered a
controversy by calling upon people to vote for the BJP candidate if they don’t
want western UP to become another Kashmir in the country. Addressing a rally in
Hapur’s Dholana constituency on January 30, Adityanath covertly raised the
issue of Hindu exodus and said it was unfortunate that people have become
refugees in their own homes.
Another controversial BJP leader,
Sangeet Som, ruffled feathers by screening a 20-minute CD that had video
clippings of his speeches about the Muzaffarnagar riots, the lynching of a
Muslim man in Bisada village in Dadri, and other events. The district
administration confiscated the CD and lodged a case against Som on charges of
violation of model code of conduct and spreading hatred among people.
Kabristan-smashan’ and ‘Ramzan-Diwali’ divide
PM Modi sparked a row by drawing
a parallel between Hindu and Muslim festivals and accusing the administration
of practising discrimination on the basis of religion. “If you create a
‘kabristaan’ (graveyard) in a village, then a ‘smashan’ (cremation ground)
should also be created. If electricity is given uninterrupted during Ramzan,
then it should be supplied without a break even on Diwali. Bhedbhaav nahin hona
chahiye (there should be no discrimination,” Modi said while addressing a rally
in Fatehpur in an apparent attempt to play the Hindutva card.
Congress vice-president Rahul
Gandhi was quick to react to Modi’s comment, saying the divisive remarks
betrayed the BJP leader’s sense of “apprehension and jitter.” “In an election,
people are free to vote for anyone of their choice. But they must remain
guarded against any attempt to spread hatred and create division in the
society,” Gandhi said while addressing a rally in an assembly segment of Amethi
No comments
Post a Comment