A self-declared ‘Hindu’ outfit has announced at a press conference that it will forcibly get couples married on the spot who are found together on Valentine’s Day – even gift them Rs 11,000. This is criminal intimidation and a declaration of the intent to commit violence. Such an act attracts numerous sections of the BNS and requires preventive action from the powers that be. And yet not a squeak has been heard from any quarters. Does Uttarakhand’s police force look over its shoulders at the political bosses before acting against such hooliganism? Is the government in agreement with such a mindset and covertly supports such acts?
This is not the only incident that casts a shadow over the law-and-order situation in the state. The entire state witnessed the recent ‘wild west’ antics of a sitting MLA and a former legislator, which is still ongoing. Although it was so starkly in the public eye that it could not be ignored, the question arises why even those who have been or are members of the legislative assembly think so little about law enforcement in the state that they can actually contemplate such gross violations of the law.
Another legislator is reported to have assaulted officials and workers of the Electricity Department on their way to install smart meters. He also broke some meters, and his supporters damaged the vehicles in which the department team had arrived. Any action taken? Just a timid statement from the department authorities that the advantage of the smart meters would be ‘explained to the MLA’. In another day and age, the entire workforce of the department would have struck work and forced the government to act. Have they no expectations of the present establishment – politicians and officials? Similarly, villagers at more than one place attacked electricity department teams seeking payment of overdue bills.
At the street level, there are incidents almost daily that red flag the deterioration in law enforcement. Has the once prestigious service, the IPS, become so uncertain about its responsibilities it is incapable of enforcing the law? Has it become compromised to such an extent that the only people it can act against are ordinary citizens that can exercise no influence?
The politicians who are in power at present must remember that an excessive focus on populism does pay dividends for a while but, unless there is actual good governance, it all eventually blows up in the face.
