As protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act continue in Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said last week that his government will take “revenge” against those who indulged in violence and damaged public property. More than 700 people have been arrested and thousands detained. Internet services remained blocked across the state. At least 18 people have died in UP.
ThePrint asks: Midway through his term as UP CM, does Yogi’s performance prove he was the right choice?
Expecting a man who until recently was facing charges of murder, hate speech to run a fair govt in UP is naïve
Pawan Khera
National spokesperson, Indian National Congress
Uttar Pradesh has always played an important role in India’s politics due to its sheer electoral weight. The state gave a resounding victory to the BJP in 2017, despite no one being projected as its CM face. Ajay Singh Bisht alias Yogi Adityanath elbowed his way into becoming the 21st chief minister of UP on 19 March 2017.
His tenure so far can only be termed as inglorious on every count. From tragic deaths of hundreds of children due to lack of oxygen to the state machinery trying to protect high profile rapists who belonged to the BJP, Adityanath has never been seen taking on the actual criminals. On the contrary, it was the paediatrician blamed for the Gorakhpur hospital tragedy, and victims of rape had to either pay with their lives or their relatives’.
The state also witnessed the horrible lynching of a police inspector in Bulandshahr at the hands of a Right-wing mob. Expecting a man who until recently was facing charges of murder of a constable and hate speech to run a fair administration is naive.
Uttar Pradesh has become a state where journalists can’t do fair reporting without facing consequences. The only saving grace to bad governments in a democracy is that they have a fixed tenure — Adityanath’s ends in March 2022.
After 2002 riots, Modi didn’t remotely behave the way Yogi is now or ask for ‘revenge’
Zafar Sareshwala
Former chancellor, Maulana Azad National Urdu University
Muslims are facing atrocities at the hands of the UP Police, particularly in Bijnor and Muzaffarnagar, ever since the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Bill broke out. I believe that the reaction of the police is not proportionate and have brought it to the attention of top officials in UP. Dialogue is of utmost importance at this time.
I remember that after the 2002 riots, Narendra Modi didn’t even remotely behave the way that Yogi Adityanath currently is. The conduct of Modi as CM was extremely different. He didn’t use the language of ‘revenge’ like Yogi is. This is exactly why Muslims still supported Modi after 2002.
When one sits in the chief minister’s chair, every single citizen should be equal for them irrespective of religion, caste or class. The language of the CM percolates down to the police. This is not to say that Adityanath gave them a free hand – but this language definitely makes the police very happy.
In my first meeting with PM Modi, he spoke about the five crore Gujaratis. I asked him if there was space for 50 lakhs of ‘us’ Muslims. Then, he lectured me for 20 minutes on how they are all a part of the state.
In some issues like education and madrasas, Adityanath has been very forthcoming and positive. But, the actions of the UP Police now are extremely worrying. I would request Yogi Adityanath to look at this situation with compassion.
Adityanath’s performance in UP has been below average. He lacks political imagination to better state
Sanjay Kumar
Director, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies
The Yogi Adityanath government’s performance in Uttar Pradesh in the past two and a half years doesn’t qualify as good governance by any standards – it has been below average at best.
However, we don’t know if some other leader in his position would have performed better or worse. At the same time, the Adityanath government has not fulfilled people’s expectations. There are law and order, education and electricity problems.
The current administration in UP hasn’t brought much difference to people’s lives. But people aren’t outrightly enraged by the government’s performance either.
The recent statements by CM Adityanath are plain unfortunate. One can be angry about a certain protest, but this is no sign of maturity from a chief minister who vows ‘revenge’ against protesters. Moreover, Adityanath lacks the political imagination to better Uttar Pradesh in the long term.
Adityanath has been an MP before, so one would expect his decisions to be backed by experience. But that hasn’t been the case so far.
Adityanath he has been able to successfully override anti-incumbency wave in UP
Abhijit Iyer Mitra
Senior fellow, Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies
Yogi Adityanath was never a “choice”; he basically foisted himself onto the chief minister’s chair. It just so happened that it suited PM Modi because he didn’t want the traditional factions within the Uttar Pradesh BJP to gain power.
Adityanath’s performance as CM has been rather patchy. On one hand, his record on law and order has been mixed at best. We have seen crimes in the state, but we have also seen a tough security crackdown like during the anti-CAA protests.
On the other hand, he’s been overly reliant on bureaucrats — mirroring Modi. This can be both a good thing and a bad thing. At any rate, the only real barometer we have is the Lok Sabha election. In any developing country with incoherent policies, there is bound to be anti-incumbency sentiments, but in the case of UP, Adityanath was able to successfully override this. The BJP performed well in the state in the 2019 Lok Sabha election.
Adityanath has handled the current chaos in UP as best he could. We should remember that the protests were not peaceful. As for confiscating the property of violent protesters, Adityanath has used a correct and legally tenable method of property seizure to compensate for public losses. This approach was used (and celebrated) in 2017 in Ravishankar’s case – for the ecological damage his foundation’s World Culture Festival caused to Delhi’s Yamuna floodplains.
Trigger-happy police, rampant corruption, casteism – Adityanath’s Uttar Pradesh has a lot of problems
Prashant Srivastava
Correspondent, ThePrint
Midway through his term, there are numerous questions being raised about the performance of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath. The CAA protests and his administration’s response to it is the latest addition, with Uttar Pradesh recording the maximum number of deaths nationwide.
Law and order in Uttar Pradesh is deteriorating. Many social activists were arrested for protesting against the CAA and have been slapped with charges of ‘sabotage’ and ‘attempt to murder’. This is probably for the first time that internet services in UP’s Lucknow have remained disconnected for six days. The BJP administration has extended the ban until Christmas.
Apart from Lucknow, internet services remain suspended in several districts of western UP, including Muzaffarnagar and Bijnor. Before the anti-CAA protests broke out in UP, more than 50 MLAs of the BJP sat on a dharna against their own government. BJP MLA Nand Kishor Gurjar led that dharna, alleged rampant corruption in Uttar Pradesh.
The Yogi government has also faced allegations of protecting rape convict MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar and rape accused former union minister Chinmayanand. Several opposition leaders have also accused CM Adityanath of practising casteism. They claim Yogi only promotes ‘Thakurs’ in Uttar Pradesh.
Also read: Elevating Yogi Adityanath is becoming PM Modi’s biggest blunder now, not demonetisation
By Kairvy Grewal, journalist at ThePrint
Yogi is going to burst his ear drum by sticking a pencil in the ear. Hell, yogi probably has Yoga Aasana to fix it.
There is a whole mythology in describing – India Today excels in this, as Time magazine does in the US – the consultations that precede ministerial appointments, including the nod from the parent organisation. The complex regional, caste and other considerations, the background checks, the CV. And then we end up with Radha Mohan Singh, Krishi Mantra for five years. 2. The appointment of Shri Ajay Bisht as CM of UP was in a class of its own. The pious hope that the most mischievous boy in the class will prove to be a good Monitor. The deaths of infants / children at the Gorakhpur public hospital for want of oxygen cylinders was an early opportunity to rectify a grievously wrong choice. After that, gentleman has gone from strength to strength. 3. If there is a genuine desire to set a new, better course, for the remaining four years, changing the CM of UP would be the best way to signal serious intent. Else leave it to the good people of UP to do the needful in March 2022.
Despite all mistakes he handled CAA protests well.
On a lighter note, if Yogiji is the right choice, I must be a bottle of Pepsi.
Yogi ?
Why?
Maharajji have been a very positive influence as CM of UP as compared to the anarchy, rule of hoodlums and castiest policies of earlier govts. in UP. Only drawback is that the beauracracy could work lot more efficiently in implementing the govt. projects more efficiently and quickly.