Mumtaz Alam,
BJP leader Adityanath Yogi on Sunday took oath as 21st Chief Minister of India’s largest state Uttar Pradesh. His two deputies — Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dr Dinesh Sharma — and 44 ministers were also administered oath. But the surprise, like his own selection as UP CM, was the induction of a Muslim in his team of ministers. It should be seen as a welcome gesture particularly in the polarized atmosphere of the state. Lot more needs to be done on the ground.
In the recently-held elections in UP, BJP won 312 seats alone in the 403-Member Assembly. The election campaigns of BJP, thanks to controversial remarks of its top leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party chief Amit Shah and party’s star campaigner Yogi himself, were communally surcharged – and it was one of the factors behind the massive victory of BJP.
All major non-BJP parties, including Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and Congress that have got Muslim vote for decades, received humiliating defeat at the hands of BJP – and it was naturally a setback for the minority community who constitutes around 19% of the state population. What shocked them more was the truth, perhaps for the first time, that BJP has won majority of the seats in the Muslim-dominated areas also even though the party had not fielded a single Muslim candidate. And then, the appointment of Yogi Adityanath, known for his anti-Muslim provocative statements, as Chief Minister increased their concern.
In this backdrop, Chief Minister Adityanath’s decision to have a Muslim face in his team of 44 ministers is a welcome gesture. To an extent, this may help in reducing the concern. Soon after his appointment Saturday evening, his call to the state police for zero tolerance to hooliganism in the name of victory celebrations was also very wise and timely.
There is little doubt that the communalized election campaigns created division in the society and so it is the responsibility of Yogi and his government to ensure harmony in order to achieve their goal of all-round development in the state. Moreover, as they have been promising Sab Ka Saath Sab Ka Vikas, care should be taken that about one-fifth of the state population is not excluded from any development plan of the government.
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