Badaun gang rape and murder is a wake-up call for Akhilesh and SP - Times of India

Keeping up pressure on the Akhilesh Yadav government in UP over its handling of the Badaun gang rape and murder case involving two teenaged dalit girls, hundreds of BJP workers protested outside chief minister's office in Lucknow. Meanwhile, the Union home ministry has written to the state government seeking an explanation why an FIR under the SC/ST Act has not been registered in the case. Both developments are being perceived as Centre's efforts to hold the UP administration accountable for the deteriorating law and order situation in the state. Evidence suggests that UP is sinking deeper into a quagmire of caste and gender violence as well as general lawlessness with each passing day.

This marks a significant departure from the previous BSP regime that had made considerable efforts to curb criminal activities in UP. Reportedly, the current Samajwadi dispensation has facilitated a pro-Yadav bias within the state police. This could have shown up in the Badaun case where the Yadav accused where purportedly shielded by local policemen who initially refused to take cognisance of the victims' families' complaints. Add to this Akhilesh's abject lack of sensitivity towards the case — he is yet to visit the victims' kin — and it's clear that the state government has lost its way.

This is ironic considering that Akhilesh had been elected to power in 2012 on the mandate of modernising UP. He was seen as a young leader who could deliver on the aspirations of youth and improve governance. Instead, his tenure has only brought back the vicious aspects of earlier Samajwadi governments headed by his father Mulayam Singh, where criminals enjoyed impunity. In letting law and order slide, Akhilesh is not only turning the clock back on UP's development but also handing ammunition to the opposition. Having suffered electoral humiliation in the recent Lok Sabha polls, he is skating on very thin ice.