Mukhtar Ansari

Lucknow, Feb. 12: Laloo Prasad Yadav’s caste rival in Uttar Pradesh, Mulayam Singh Yadav, appears to have developed an Achilles heel in the form of his own Mohammad Shahabuddin.

The Uttar Pradesh chief minister today found himself in the eye of an Opposition storm over his alleged patronisation of Mukhtar Ansari, a don from the east of the state who is also the Independent MLA from Mau.

The charges that have long been levelled by Mulayam Singh’s political detractors became shriller after IPS officer Shailendra Singh of the special task force resigned last night, citing “increasing political interference in discharge of duties in the police force”. He sent his resignation to the governor.

The case in question involved an army deserter and was being handled by Singh for the Varanasi unit of the task force, which was set up by then chief minister Kalyan Singh to tackle mafia operators.

Singh, believed to be a dedicated officer, recently arrested the deserter, a close associate of Ansari, and seized from him a light machinegun.

The weapon was supposed to be handed to Ansari, who is alleged to be at the head of a gun-running racket. The deserter’s arrest led to the transfer of two police officers, including a Varanasi range deputy inspector-general.

In a report Singh submitted recently, he recommended the deserter and his associates, including Ansari, be booked under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. The officer allegedly came under government pressure as a consequence.

The Assembly today raised Singh’s resignation in an acrimonious discussion. Though kicked off by BSP members, the BJP, which till recently was soft on Mulayam Singh, quickly joined the debate.

“The issue has spilled on to the street. The law and order situation is in a sorry state,” said Lalji Tandon, the leader of the Opposition in the House. Ansari, clad in a dhoti and kurta, was present in the Assembly all the while.

The combined Opposition finally walked out from both Houses, demanding a reply from the chief minister.

Late in the evening, Mulayam Singh gave a reply in an attempt to pacify the Opposition. He said neither he nor his government was putting any pressure on the IPS officer.

“I am yet to get the resignation of the officer. And if the cause of the resignation is the question if Pota should be invoked, it is a policy matter best left to the government. How can any officer decide this?” he asked.

The Ansari controversy is a near replay of the Shahabuddin episode in Bihar involving the state’s then director-general of police D.P. Ojha. Ojha had been shunted out a day after he submitted a report to the government on the alleged criminal activities of the Siwan MP. The Opposition in Bihar has often accused Laloo Prasad of fending for his party MP.

Ansari, said to be a small-time player who eventually became a don of eastern Uttar Pradesh, allegedly has mafia operations spread across Gorakhpur, Azamgarh and Varanasi districts. The MLA from Azamgarh had supported the previous BSP government and is now believed to be close to the ruling Samajwadi Party.

With the general elections round the corner, the Ansari issue appears set to haunt the ruling party till at least the polls are over.