Uttar Pradesh: The Shelved Nazul Bill Has Palpable Political Implications

While the bill was hurriedly passed through a voice vote, more and more BJP and NDA leaders openly criticised it.

The chief minister believed that enacting a law to tighten lease regulations, cancel Nazul properties from becoming freehold, require full documentation of ownership with retrospective effect, and empower his administration to evict illegitimate occupants would bolster his reputation as a tough administrator.

(Photo: The Quint)

The latest twist in the ongoing tussle between saffron-clad Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and his rivals within the BJP involves a controversy over his government’s attempt to regulate approximately 75,000 acres of land. This land, worth an estimated two lakh crore rupees, has been leased out to various individuals and institutions across the state.

Known as Nazul land, these properties were seized by the British Raj from wealthy landowners who were suspected of participating in activities against the Crown, particularly during the Sepoy Mutiny and its troubled aftermath. With India’s independence, they passed on by default to the state administration who leased them out at nominal rates permanently renewable to the occupants.

So far, no other state has sought to disturb the status quo on Nazul land, either in rural or urban areas. Characteristically unconventional, Yogi chose to revive the findings of a three-decade-old report on Nazul property by the NN Vohra Commission under the Narasimha Rao government.

The report exposed a nexus in urban areas between politicians, bureaucrats and land mafias that were engaged in the business of forcibly occupying Nazul land and buildings, evicting existing residents and tenants, and buying and selling such properties at vast profit.

The chief minister believed that enacting a law to tighten lease regulations, cancel Nazul properties from becoming freehold, require full documentation of ownership with retrospective effect, and empower his administration to evict illegitimate occupants would bolster his reputation as a tough administrator. This move is aimed at showcasing his commitment to fighting crime bosses, including the land mafia.

Interestingly, there was little hullabaloo raised by his cabinet or party and political allies when he pushed the drastic law through an ordinance in March this year. However, underlining Yogi’s fall in stature after the BJP’s loss across Uttar Pradesh in the Lok Sabha polls, he faced fierce opposition when he sought to turn the ordinance into law through a bill in the state legislative assembly from his own party and allies, along with the Opposition that gleefully grabbed the opportunity of embarrassing him. While the bill was hurriedly passed through a voice vote, more and more BJP leaders and NDA allies openly criticised it as anti-people legislation.

For instance, Bhupendra Singh Chaudhury, chief of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, described the Yogi-sponsored bill as “against both the party and people which will create chaos in the state.” Sidharth Nath Singh and Harshvardhan Bajpai, both leading BJP legislators from Prayagraj which houses vast tracts of Nazul land, lambasted the new law.

Yogi’s allies were not far behind with Anupriya Pate, minister in the Yogi cabinet, and national president of NDA ally Apna Dal condemning the bill as “hurting public sentiments,” demanding its immediate withdrawal. Anil Kumar Tripathi, the legislator of another ally, the Nishad party, declared it “anti-people.” Brijbhushan Saran Singh, the infamous BJP strongman from Gonda, facing charges of sexually assaulting champion female wrestlers, even predicted “Since holy Ayodhya city has so much Nazul land, this draconian law can be used to bring down thousands of temples.”

The final humiliation for Yogi Adityanath occurred when his bill, despite passing in the state assembly, was shelved after a special meeting of the State Legislative Council. BJP Chief Bhupendra Singh recommended that, due to the bill’s controversial nature, it should be reviewed by a select committee for potential amendments. This was promptly accepted by Yogi’s chief political rival, Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya, who was presiding over the council. Both he and the BJP chief were seen sporting wide grins and shaking hands after the meeting. It is believed that the CM’s detractors in his party and regional allies will either water down the bill beyond recognition or allow it to lapse altogether.

There is little doubt that the ugly controversy over changes in the laws governing Nazul land has palpable political implications. It indicates the concerted effort since the Lok Sabha polls to corner Yogi and cut him to size by his rivals in his party helped by allied parties in the ruling coalition in Uttar Pradesh.

More than two months after the dismal performance of the ruling party in the Lok Sabha polls, reverberations within the BJP in the state refuse to go away. Political observers are drawing parallels between the current situation and that which prevailed in 1999 when the then BJP CM Kalyan Singh was systematically harassed by both state leaders of his party and central ministers including the Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.

Ultimately, Kalyan Singh was forced to resign, leaving the BJP shortly afterwards. Removing Yogi may prove far more difficult. Unlike in the late 1990s, when the RSS chief Rajendra Singh was close to Vajpayee and condoned Singh’s removal, the current Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat is believed to be solidly behind Yogi. There appears to be a consensus in the Sangh that any change in leadership of Uttar Pradesh could seriously damage the BJP in the state just like it did nearly three decades ago after the tussle with Kalyan Singh.

Meanwhile, the growing tensions between the CM and his opponents, reportedly with the backing of Home Minister Amit Shah, has led to a stalemate over when to hold the pending assembly by-polls in ten constituencies across the state. Yogi is insisting on full control over the assembly by-polls, unlike in the Lok Sabha elections, when he was sidelined. On the other hand, his detractors in the party fear that if he does well in the by-polls on his own steam, he could regain his old domineering stature.

(The writer is a Delhi-based senior journalist and the author of ‘Behenji: A Political Biography of Mayawati’. This is an opinion piece. The views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)