Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh on Sunday accused the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh of getting the AAP’s Lucknow office forcibly shut and trying to suppress the voice of the Opposition by lodging FIRs against him for alleging that the State government was selectively working for Thakurs.
On August 12, Mr. Singh, at a press conference, had accused the police under the Yogi Adityanath-led government of “selectively killing people” especially those from the Brahmin caste. Mr. Singh also claimed that the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force had become the “Special Thakur Force,” in a dig at the Thakur identity of the Chief Minister. Since then, Mr. Singh said the police had lodged FIRs against him in five districts, including Muzaffarnagar, Baghpat and Aligarh. He was charged with spreading animosity between communities and hurting national integration.
‘Pressure on landlord’
On Sunday, standing outside the AAP’s local office, Mr. Singh accused the police of getting it closed by applying pressure on the landlord of the building. He said Mr. Adityanath was engaging in a “childish game” of hounding him through police.
“I am in Lucknow. You have lodged FIR in five districts. Arrest and send me to jail,” Mr. Singh dared the Chief Minister. The police are yet to respond to the MP’s allegations.
Mr. Singh said the government was trying to suppress the voice of the Opposition but stressed he would continue to highlight the “truth” about Uttar Pradesh’s crime situation. In his press conference on August 12, Mr. Singh had said a “government of Thakurs” was running in Uttar Pradesh and it was working for only one caste.
He said the STF was selectively eliminating and murdering people, especially Brahmins. Despite having 58 Brahmin MLAs in the State, BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma was unable to raise his voice for his community, the AAP leader said, levelling similar charges against Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya.
The AAP leader’s remarks fit into the current onslaught against the Yogi government in which Opposition leaders are accusing it of pandering to Thakurs and especially targetting the Brahmin community. The recent round of allegations and counter-allegations over caste was triggered by the Vikas Dubey episode in Kanpur and found fresh arsenal in the arrest of MLA Vijay Mishra of Bhadohi.
Rajbhar’s charge
Om Prakash Rajbhar, president of the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party, extended support to Mr. Singh and accused the Yogi government of “honouring just one caste” while targetting the others. On August 15, Mr. Rajbhar, who was sacked as a Cabinet Minister by the BJP government after his rebellion during the 2019 Lok Sabha election, called upon Mr. Singh at his residence here. Mr. Rajbhar indicated that the two parties would tie up for the 2022 State elections.