Honesty is not the best policy when it comes to running a state like Uttar Pradesh

Naresh Kumar Verma, 57, Uttar Pradesh's handsome inspector general of police (IGP) has shifted his headquarters from Lucknow to Mainpuri temporarily. His mission: to save the job of Chief Minister Vishwanath Pratap Singh who, by his own commitment, is expected to resign by December 24.Aided by 25 senior Indian Police Service officials, over 100 sleuths from the Central and state intelligence agencies and 1,500 policemen drawn from the Border Security Force and Provincial Armed Constabulary, Verma has combed all the 12 dacoit-infested districts to ferret out perpertrator's of the ghastly Dehuli carnage. Says Rajindra Tripathi, minister of state for home: "Policemen must come up to expectations by honouring their uniform. My own job is in danger along with the chief minister's if the cops fail to act."Uttar Pradesh's police force is not alone in finding an escape route for Singh who has taken a vow to quit by this fortnight - third such announcement since he took over in June 1980. Singh first offered his resignation to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi soon after the Moradabad and Aligarh riots on September 13, 1980. He repeated his offer in February 1981 when Phoolan Devi killed 20 people in Behmai. By last fortnight, Central cabinet ministers, Congress(I) leaders, and numerous social organisations had mobilised support for the chief minister who according to them was not only honest but also doing a good job.Undoubtedly, the Congress(I) organisation was in the forefront of the campaign to mobilise public support in favour of the chief minister. Both Rajiv Gandhi and Union Home Minister Zail Singh, who visited the state last fortnight, praised the state Government. Said Rajiv Gandhi when asked about Singh's third resignation offer, "Why should Singh be unsuccessful in fulfilling his vow? He will succeed in nabbing the dacoits before December 24. It (the Government) is functioning well."V.P. Singh: Cleansing the partySince D-day is approaching fast, everybody's eyes are fixed on the performance of the police. Home Minister Swarup Kumari Bakshi, who took over only last month, claimed that the suspected culprits had been encircled. The state's Home Secretary R.C. Takru, while reeling out statistics to the press, stated that five of 30-odd members of the Radhey-Santosha gang - allegedly responsible for the Dehuli massacre - had been arrested.In addition, officials of the state's information department were convincing local newsmen that the Government has succeeded "to a large extent" in solving the dacoity problem. Between November 20 and December 8, 1981, over 50 dacoits, the officials claimed, had been killed and 120 were arrested.Increasing Lawlessness: But the opposition leaders have challenged the state Government's contentions. Says Kalraj Mishra, Uttar Pradesh's Bharatiya Janata Party general secretary, "The state administration is dominated by criminals. Top leaders of the ruling party are in league with the dacoits. You can't expect the crime graph to come down." Even according to official figures, over 150 murders, 30 cases of dacoities, 14 cases of road hold-ups, three cases of train robberies took place in various parts of the state during the last one month alone. For example, soon after the Dehuli incident, some policemen allegedly stripped a woman in Lucknow, a student allegedly died in police custody in Aligarh, and two persons were beheaded by wanted criminals in Lucknow. After every serious crime-officers" ranks of the state's police have swelled: there arc now six officials of IGP's rank, three additional inspector-generals, 42 deputy inspector-generals and 205 superintendents of police as against half these numbers five years ago. But ironically, the number of heinous crimes has shot up."Uttar Pradesh's current woes," feels a sociologist of Lucknow University, "are not due to the inefficient Government but due to the powerful link between criminals and politicians. Unless that link is broken, the situation can't improve." In fact, over half the members of the state's Legislative Assembly are facing criminal and other charges in various courts. Some ministers in Singh's Cabinet as well as in the Janata government were charged with providing protection to dacoits. A section of the Congress(I) leadership feels that Singh has decided to quit because he has failed to delink politicians from the criminals.In one of the Congress(I) legislature party meetings Singh made it clear that he would not hesitate to use the National Security Act against those hardened criminals who had strong links with the ruling party. But his warning has been ignored not only by his party's MLAs but by the police who stand to gain by aligning with dacoits and criminals. Paradoxically, Uttar Pradesh has not been able to improve its sullied image despite the fact that it has got in Chief Minister Singh, (IGP) Verma and Chief Secretary T.N. Tiwari, a trio who have never faced graft charges in their lives. Obviously honesty is not the best policy, at least when it comes to running a state like Uttar Pradesh!Published By: AtMigration Published On: Oct 23, 2013 11:38 IST--- ENDS ---

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Honesty is not the best policy when it comes to running a state like Uttar Pradesh

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