Referring to the alleged gang rape and murder of a minor girl in Buladanshahr, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav and Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Jayant Singh took on the BJP government for its poor track record on the law and order in the State.
“Like the Hathras case, the family of the victim is complaining that their daughter was cremated by the police at night after putting pressure on them but the Chief Minister is busy praising himself for the law and order,” said Mr Yadav.
The minor died on January 22 in Dibai area of the district. The police said the post-mortem had not confirmed rape and that the girl was shot dead by the boy she was in a relationship with, in a fit of rage.
The boy, who allegedly tried to kill himself after the incident, has been arrested and is charged with murder and relevant Sections of the POCSO Act.
The case assumed political colour after the family members accused Bharatiya Janata Party’s Shikarpur candidate Anil Sharma, a Minister in the Yogi Adityanath government, for providing patronage to the Brahmin boys allegedly involved in the case. Mr. Singh has tweeted about the case, putting pressure on the administration.
In his election speeches, the CM has been targeting Mr. Yadav for his government’s poor track record on law and order and shielding the criminal elements.
Mr. Yadav took on the belligerent tone of Mr. Adityanath during election rallies and asked “if he were compressor that would take or reduce the heat of people. A CM should not use undignified words and we would request the Election Commission to take note of it.
“We will fight the BJP with bhaichara [brotherhood. I have been saying all along jo paida kare khaiee wo hai bhajpayi. [the one who creates division is the BJP]”.
He also charged the government with ignoring the interests of the farmers as there was no mention of its electoral promise of doubling their income by 2022 in the Budget.
He highlighted the poor condition of the toll road from Ghaziabad that he took to Bulandshahr. “The moment you go above the speed of 60 kmph, you start feeling pain in your back but still you are charged for it.”
Large crowds welcomed the two leaders as they hopped on to the special bus to seek votes in seven constituencies of the district that will vote on February 10. Slogans of Hindu-Muslim unity were raised along the way. Ompal Singh, a Jat farmer, said he realised it was better to support the moonch [moustache] of Jats (Jayant Singh) than staying as the poonch [tale] of the BJP.
Munder Singh Yadav, a farmer from Sikanderabad, said even the Yadavs in the region had voted for the BJP last time. “This time they want to give Akhilesh a chance because he has emerged from the pressures of Azam Khan and his uncle and seems to have become his own man now.”
