Passionate About India

Of late, the word ‘affection’ has acquired a new meaning in Uttar Pradesh. The term, which otherwise is used to express qualitative and subjective feelings, has turned hugely quantitative in nature. And interestingly, this change has been spearheaded by none other than the current Chief Minister of the state, Ms Mayawati, whose followers, in a mad frenzy of this affection, had been filling her personal coffers with gifts and donations. The reverence of Bahujan Samaj Party party workers towards her had been so overwhelming that according to reports, in the last three years, her personal wealth has grown almost 50 times! Her personal assets – which in 2004 were around Rs 1.62 crores, a figure she herself had declared before filing her nomination papers – have increased to a whopping Rs 52 crores now! And mind you, she does not have any other source of income except for these gifts! Media reports have put on record that her personal property is worth Rs 37.82 crore, plus cash of Rs 50.27 ...

Mayawati’s sweeping victory in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections was a vindication of the fact that all is not yet lost of the cause of India. The nation’s largest and perhaps one of the worst ruled state is finally out of the clutches of mafia rule and is probably heading towards a new dawn of equitable social and economic development. Mayawati’s victory is not only significant that a Dalit woman has once again been given the mantle of the largest state, but is also the reflection of the changing dynamics of India’s socio-political milieu. Her sweeping victory is one of the biggest of Indian democracy, by all parameters. Probably for the first time in the history of modern India, people cut across caste lines and came together to vote for a woman who is known to be a hard task master and accepts no nonsense. Two years ago, when the people of Bihar dethroned Lalu Prasad and rejected his caste-based divisive politics and reinstated Nitish Kumar, they had shown the path. Despite this,...