With more and more politicians in Uttar Pradesh heading for stints in jails, it is only natural for state legislators to demand improved facilities for MPs and MLAs lodged behind the bars.
The MLAs, cutting across political lines have urged the Akhilesh Yadav government to amend the jail manual and provide ‘required respect and services’ to elected representatives who are jailed in various cases. The MLAs also want that they should be lodged in jails in their constituencies so that they can continue to meet people form their constituencies.
Congress leader Pramod Tiwari, who also raised the issue in state Assembly, said that, “Cases against elected representatives are mostly politically motivated and lodged at the behest of the ruling party. As per law, no one is guilty until proved so in the court of law and, therefore, MPs and MLAs should not be subjected to treatment that is reserved for criminals.” He pointed out that special facilities are given to MPs and MLAs only after the magistrate’s permission which takes considerable time.
Mr Tiwari’s demand, incidentally, has found huge support from MLAs in the state Assembly. UP minister for jail Raghuraj Pratap Singh a.k.a. Raja Bhaiyya — who, incidentally, has served two long terms inside jail during the Mayawati regimes — agrees with the Congress leader. “I have been jailed twice for 26 months during the Mayawati regimes under Pota and Gangsters Act and have undergone the physical and mental torture that one suffers behind the bars. I was kept in isolation in a small cell with a tin roof. I used to cook my own food and even wash my clothes,” he said recounting his own experience. The minister said that he would definitely take up the issue with chief minister Akhilesh Yadav and do whatever was possible to improve the conditions for elected representatives in jail.
In the current Assembly, nearly 189 legislators out of the total of 403, have criminal cases pending against them. Of 189 MLAs with criminal record, 98 are facing serious charges. These figures have been released by Election Watch. The top three criminal legislators include Mitra Sen Yadav of SP with 36 cases, including 14 related to murder, Sushil Singh independent) with 20 cases including 12 related to murders and Ram Veer Singh (Samajwadi Party) with 18 cases including eight related to murders. More than 19 ministers in the government have criminal records.