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Even as Akhilesh Yadav nears another milestone of completing 18 months in office as Uttar Pradesh chief minister, the path is getting bumpier for the Samajwadi Party’s ‘cycle’.
The recent communal riots in Muzaffarnagar district of western UP is only the latest spoiler for the ruling party’s youth mascot. The unfortunate incident is another addition to the long list of such conflagrations in the present dispensation, numbering over 40.
Several people, including children, lost their lives in the riots, that occurred despite timely warning by the central agencies and tension simmering in the district for the last 2 weeks. Army had to be called in to control the situation.
Charges of administrative negligence and nurturing vote bank and polarisation politics in the run up to the 2014 general election have flew thick and fast with SP at the receiving end.
Ever since Yadav assumed office on March 15, 2012, his regime has seen more lows than highs. Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav’s prime ministerial ambitions, which keeps him divided between Lucknow and Delhi, hasn’t helped either; in fact it has only harmed the government.
While, allegations of multiple power centres in the present regime are slowly becoming legendary, the law and order situation has never seemed on right the footing under Akhilesh Yadav.
There were high hopes from him. He was seen as forward looking and tech-savvy. However, he perceptibly never got a free hand to call the shots.
The only notable feat of the current dispensation has been the distribution of free laptops to class XII passed students of 2011-12 academic session.
Recently, the government has hired global consultancy firm Ernst & Young (E&Y) as ‘Knowledge Partner’ to promote ‘Brand UP’ for the next 18 months.
Understandably, the brief of E&Y would not have included the shadow cast by the recent communal riots and other bloopers, the regime is susceptible to make at regular intervals.
The suspension of young woman IAS officer, Durga Shakti Nagap, posted in Noida, over flimsy reason of demolition the illegal boundary wall of a place of worship, is such an example. The media played up the incident, which only earned bad publicity to the government.
The state government is yet to attract any big ticket investment, though the chief minister has been quite accessible to industry and meeting industry representatives on regular intervals.
“Such incidents (Muzaffarnagar), no doubt, can create bad perception about the government,” Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow Director Devi Singh told Business Standard. “The present government is only 18 months old and Yadav still has a long way to go to prove himself,” Singh added. Assocham secretary general D S Rawat also dismissed that Muzaffarnagar incident would have much impact.
“This incident is a temporary setback and is not likely to impact the long term growth of the state. The anti-social elements are working to get a bad name to UP,” Rawat noted.
Conceding that the existing units would be impacted to some extent, he claimed the flow of investment would not be impacted negatively.
