Yogi’s bizarre stance

A POLICE officer was killed while on duty near Bulandshahr, UP. Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh was trying to control a mob that had been agitated after some animal remains were found in the area. The main accused in the killing, a local Bajrang Dal leader Yogesh Rai, is still at large, although some others have been arrested. The tone for the narration was set when the CM called the incident an ‘accident’. Instead of investigating the police officer’s death and bringing the guilty to book, the state police force is devoting its energy to ‘investigate’ a cow slaughter conspiracy. The first arrests made for this alleged conspiracy were of some Muslim youths, but the government’s own SIT ruled them innocent. Undaunted, it has now announced the arrest of three more persons!

There is a conspiracy in UP, and it is one of deflecting attention from the ghastly murder of a brave officer. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has failed in providing good governance in India’s largest state, one that voted in the BJP with a huge majority. The result, unfortunately, is rising bigotry fed by a false notion of majoritarian supremacy. Such a dangerous attitude is fostered by the Chief Minister’s constant demagogy and the studied silence of Central leaders, including the Prime Minister.

Upholding the majesty of law is one of the fundamental principles of civilisation. It is worrisome if someone who lays down his life to maintain law and order does not get justice, and those accused of his murder roam free even as his colleagues find it politically expedient to chase a red herring. The widespread criticism of the UP Chief Minister is well deserved. It is high time that the Prime Minister realises that his lieutenant in UP has become a liability. A state government that fails to arrest the murderers of its own police officers has much to lose, including credibility.