Heavy mix of crime and politics in India

by Nirmala Ganapathy

The Straits Times/ANN

Local mafia dons, strongmen and criminals have always been prominent in Indian politics

In February, Indian anti-corruption activist Arvind Kejriwal stirred up a hornet’s nest by calling the country’s parliamentarians criminals.

Politicians erupted with fury, with one MP, Mulayam Singh Yadav, saying it was the anti-corruption crusaders who were a den of criminals.

Now, Yadav’s son Akhilesh has reignited the debate by appointing politicians with criminal records as ministers in his Samajwadi Party government in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.

Eleven of the 47 ministers in the new Cabinet have criminal cases pending, inviting criticism of 38-year-old Akhilesh Yadav, who swept to power a month ago promising to rid the state of crime.

Perhaps the most controversial is the appointment of the infamous Raghuraj Pratap Singh as prisons minister.

Popularly known as Raja Bhaiyya, Singh spent 26 months behind bars some years ago on charges of terrorism, after assault rifles and explosives were found in his house. He also has eight other criminal cases pending against him, ranging from murder to extortion.

Singh, who won as an independent, has played a crucial role in helping the young Chief Minister garner votes from his Kunda constituency in western Uttar Pradesh. He maintained that his prison stint made him the right person for the job.

"My first-hand experience will help me usher in jail reforms," the 42-year-old told an Indian newspaper.

Since taking office about two weeks ago, Singh has started work on improving the lives of prisoners, asking one prison chief to improve the quality of jail food.

Local mafia dons, strongmen and criminals have always been prominent in Indian politics. Their wealth and influence have served political parties looking for support across multiple castes and religions. Most of them, like Singh, maintain that they have been framed by their political rivals.

A study by the Zee Research Group found that in four out of seven states that got new governments in the past year, politicians facing criminal charges have control over the departments of law, justice and prisons.

Uttar Pradesh is not the only state with the dubious distinction of having Cabinet-ranked ministers with criminal records or facing criminal charges. For example, there is Moloy Ghatak from the eastern state of West Bengal, where he is in charge of the Law and Judicial Department. He has six criminal cases against him.

Then there is the southern state of Kerala’s Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, who heads the Department of Criminal Justice and Vigilance, and has one criminal case against him.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Arjun Munda, who also heads the Vigilance, Law and Justice Department, is facing six criminal charges.

Analysts said the problem is that political parties choose candidates with criminal backgrounds because they have influence in their areas and can get votes from their communities.

Said Anil Bairwal, national coordinator for the Association for Democratic Reforms, an advocacy group: "I don’t think people want this type of candidate to represent them, they just don’t have a choice. There are so many allegations that tickets (for contesting elections) are given to candidates with muscle power or money."

Milan Vaishnav from the University of Pennsylvania wrote in a recent article on Uttar Pradesh: "Voters are not ignorant or uninformed...They are simply looking for candidates who can best fill a perceived representational vacuum."

In many remote areas, it is the local mafia dons and strongmen whose influence remains the strongest.

In India’s Lower House of Parliament, 162 of the 545 members are facing criminal charges, compared with 128 in the previous parliament. After the recently concluded elections in Uttar Pradesh, 143 members of the 403-seat assembly have criminal backgrounds.

Akhilesh Yadav, who took pains to change the image of his Samajwadi Party from a party of goons to a progressive one, has himself struggled since taking power. In the past month alone, more than two dozen violent incidents involving his own party workers have been recorded.

These include incidents of party workers shooting at government officials, firing guns in the air in celebration, illegal tax collection, and attacking and holding journalists hostage.

Spokesman Rajendra Chowdhary said the party is taking action in all the cases.

"Some 25 people have been kicked out of the party for these incidents. In two to three months, you will see a change in the state," he said.