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OPINION
DILEMMAS
HUMRA
QURAISHI
The Delhi-based writer
and columnist’s books
include Kashmir: The
Untold Story. She co-
authored a series of
writings with the late
Khushwant Singh and
her short stories are
part of anthologies.
The views expressed
are her own
The latest to
be targeted is
Yogendra Yadav,
who heads Swaraj
India Party,
for voicing his
concerns about
the very survival
of the farmers
under the policies
of the Modi regime
TEHELKA / 30 SEPTEMBER 2018 42 WWW.TEHELKA.COM
42-43 Opinion Humra.indd 2 9/17/2018
Stop hounding activists, BJP has the highest number of MPs state assembly polls. politicians are left untouched.
Even when you have the likes of
and MLAs (14), followed by the Shiv
Another fact came to the fore:
whistle blowers now Sena (7) and the All India Trinamool over the last five years, 48 candi- Sakshi Maharaj(who happens to be
Member Parliament from Unnao
dates with declared cases related
Congress (6) who have declared
cases related to crime against
women. to crime against women were where a 16 year was raped by BJP’s
given tickets by the BJP. The second
sitting MLA) inaugurating a night
Reports suggest many MPs and MLAs have declared cases of ADR and National Election highest number of candidates (36) club in Lucknow and roaming
crimes against women, including alleged rape and abduction. Watch analyzed 4,852 out of 4,896 who had declared cases related to about scot free! This is when he has
crime against women were given
election affidavits of current MPs
several criminal charges slapped
Ironically, they are responsible for keeping law and order and MLAs. This includes 774 out of tickets by the BSP, followed by 27 on him.
776 affidavits of MPs and 4,078 out candidates from the INC which had Taking you still further, crimi-
of 4,120 MLAs from all the states contested for LS/RS and state as- nal charges are pending against
ounding of activists and providing only 55,000 crore, which is of India. Out of the analyzed 1,581 semblies elections. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi
academics and whis- the same as last year. Also, the Minimum (33 per cent) MPs and MLAs with Another fact: Among the states, Adityanath.
tle- blowers continues. Support Price (MSP) is making little declared criminal cases, 51 have Maharashtra has the highest num- Not just that, he was in the
The latest to be targeted inroads, simply because it is not reach- declared cases related to crimes ber of MPs and MLAs (12) who have process of ‘removing’ or ‘drop-
is Yogendra Yadav, who ing out to the farmer and is not lessen- against women. 334 candidates, declared cases of crime against ping’ charges against several of his
H not just heads Swaraj ing his plight. It was expected by the who had declared cases related women, followed by West Bengal tainted BJP ministers and political
India Party, but is the man behind the farmers that the governmental agencies to crime against women, were (11) and Odisha (6) workers. In December 2017, he had
farmers’ stand against the State. Yes, for purchase the entire quantity offered by given tickets by recognised political Also, among the states, Maha- announced that his government
the last several months Yadav has been the farmers at the announced mini- parties. rashtra has the highest number of was bringing a law to withdraw
ripping off facades and masks from the mum price, but then the ground reality Among these candidates, 40 candidates (65) in the last five years, “politically-motivated” cases, regis-
Modi sarkar’s claims of reaching out to bared a dark, gloomy picture. were given tickets by parties for Lok followed by Bihar (62) and West tered against ministers, legislators
the farmers. Mind you, Yadav is armed Sabha or Rajya Sabha elections. Var- Bengal (52) (including independ- and others in the state. Critics had
with facts and figures. And it is certainly Sanjiv Bhatt’s arrest ious recognised parties have given ents) who were given tickets by pointed out that, that proposed law
not easy to refute nor veto this articulate And yet another Modi critic has been tickets to 294 candidates with cases political parties even though they sought to scrap about 20,000 such
academic’s well-researched arguments. targeted and arrested. Sanjiv Bhatt, an related to crime against women for declared cases related to crime cases registered in various parts of
Yadav’s knowledge of the ground re- IPS officer of the Gujarat cadre, was state assembly elections. The study against women in their affidavits. the state!
alities and his awareness of this sarkar’s arrested on a basis of a 22 year old case also brought into focus the fact that Leaving you to introspect on the
tactics, makes him stand out; strong against him. Not really surprising, nor in the last five years, 19 independ- Double standards dark days we are destined to live in,
enough to take on the lies uttered by the shocking when right-wing government ent candidates with declared cases Tell me, where are we heading? where whistle blowers and activists
sarkari men. In fact, from early spring is centre-stage! Well, aren’t we too well related to crime against women Double standards in governance are hounded, and actual criminals
Yadav has been voicing his concerns aware of Sanjiv Bhatt’s ongoing criti- contested in the LS and RS elections. have never been so very bla- not just roam about scot free but
about the very survival of the farmer. To cism of the Narendra Modi led govern- And 103 independent candidates tantly stark! Arrests of activists and rule!
quote him, “It may seem that the Budget ment and the role it had played during with declared cases related to crime academics who dare to expose the
aims to improve the economic condi- the 2002 Gujarat pogrom! against women contested in the government but the tainted LETTERS@TEHELKA.COM
tions of the farmers, but it is all a hoax… And if a 22-year-old case could be
The only solution to the grievances followed up till it reached its logical con-
of the farmers is an increase in their clusion, then what about criminal cases
against many of the political characters
income, which is directly related to the
price.” — the so called top brass!
Last summer (August 2017), a study
Also, had come into focus accompa-
nying realities to the dismal condition conducted by the Association for Demo-
of the farmers in the country: the cratic Reforms (ADR), a non-govern-
budgetary allocation to agriculture has ment organisation working for electoral
come down to 2.36 per cent from last
reforms, brought forth hitting facts on
year’s 2.38 per cent. Also, the farmers’ the country’s lawmakers: As many as
income has been stagnant for the last 51 MPs and MLAs have declared cases
of crime against women, including of
four years, with it now being the lowest
in 25 years. Also, the government has alleged rape and abduction.
Of the 51, 48 are Members of Legis-
not been fulfilling its promise on the lative Assembly (MLAs) and three are
MNREGS.
the States, an estimated 80,000 crore Members of Parliament (MPs)…Giving
According to the requirements of
party-wise details, the study stated that
is required, whereas the government is among various recognised parties, the
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