The Uttarakhand High Court has done well to take ‘suo moto’ cognizance of the ugly gun fight between the two Bahubalis of Roorkee – Kunwar Pranav Singh Champion and Umesh Kumar Patrakar (this was the name under which he unsuccessfully contested for the Lok Sabha from Haridwar). Both happen to be actively engaged in politics – one is the current and, the other, a former legislator who has enjoyed ‘cabinet rank‘ in dispensations of, both, the Congress and the BJP. While Pranav has eight cases against him, Umesh Kumar has over fourteen. Umesh Kumar is also one of the few independent candidates who has managed to win elections.
The DM and the SSP have been summoned to the High Court, which appears keen to send a clear signal to individuals and groups who try to use muscle and fire power to overawe their voters. In fact, exemplary punishment should be given to both to send a very clear signal that this kind of behaviour will not be accepted. Likewise, the Speaker of the Assembly should also seek an explanation from the current and the past legislators, and suspend the current allowances and pensionary benefits of the two individuals.
However, the larger issue is not that of the open defiance of all canons of civic propriety but that of mobilising people from their respective caste groups to fight the battle on their behalf. Thus, while Pranav Champion has mobilised the Gujjar community in his support, his rival, Umesh Kumar has made it a point of Brahman prestige. How does community prestige get involved in a case which involves two individuals who are brazen in their contempt of law? On the contrary, community elders should sit down and deliberate on how these individuals have brought a bad name to the community by engaging in actions which go against the Constitutional values the legislator and ex- legislator have taken a solemn oath to preserve. Will the Gujjar community endorse the conduct and behaviour of Champion? The entire notion of a community panchayat extending support to their member, irrespective of whether s/he deserves support goes against the very grain of rule of law. It is a throwback to a feudal mindset akin to the ‘might is right’ regime in which the decision is not based on justice, but on the ability to exercise force.
The BJP has done well to issue a showcause notice to Champion, who has been in the news for similar reasons in the past as well. Umesh Kumar is an independent, who has a controversial past that neither BJP or Congress are willing to touch. It would be best if both the leading parties of the state select and nurture non-controversial candidates to ensure that Roorkee is freed of the menace of the Bahubalis.
