Congress tops UP's criminal candidates' list

While the Congress has, for over a year, targeted the Mulayam Singh Yadav government in Uttar Pradesh for allegedly patronising criminals, the grand old party of India has given tickets to the largest number of people with dubious antecedents.

A study of the affidavits of the candidates contesting the 50 constituencies in Uttar Pradesh that go to polls in the third phase on April 18 reveals that the Congress has given tickets to more people with criminal background than other parties, including the Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party. Ten of the 50 Congress candidates in the third phase of elections are facing criminal charges, compared with eight each from the SP, the BSP and the BJP.

For over a year, the All-India Congress Committee's (AICC's) press briefings have focused on the deteriorating law and order in Uttar Pradesh and targeted the SP government for its alleged connivance with criminals.

At a press conference early this month, Union minister and senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal had cited a Planning Commission report on Uttar Pradesh and said, "Poor law and order is an important disincentive for producers. Eastern Uttar Pradesh has a negative image for breeding goonda raj...The state should take serious steps to combat crime if it is interested in attracting industrialists to the state."

The affidavits of the Congress candidates submitted with their nomination papers, however, raise a big question mark over the party's credibility on the law and order issue.

The Congress candidate from Moradabad West constituency, Dheeraj Kanchal, for instance, has eight cases against him for crimes ranging from criminal intimidation to rioting, house trespassing and assault on public servants.

The Congress candidate from Dhampur, Rasheed Ahmad, faces four criminal cases ranging from cheating and forgery to assault on public servants.

Congress candidates Afroz Ali Khan from Rampur and Narveer Singh from Dadraul face several charges, including of attempt to murder. VM Singh, the Congress candidate from Puranpur, is an accused in five criminal cases.

Voters in these constituencies do not have much choice, though. Candidates from other parties have similar backgrounds. The BSP candidate from Bijnor, Shahnawaz, faces four cases, with charges ranging from robbery to rape and attempt to murder.

The BJP candidate from Aonla, Dharampal Singh, faces charges of attempt to murder and criminal intimidation. The SP candidate from, Moradabad (rural) Usmanul Haq, faces murder charges.

The list goes on.