Lucknow, November 3
In a fast-paced political development the police arrested two independent legislators — Raghuraj Pratap Singh and Dhananjay Singh — today on charges of criminal intimidation. The Samajwadi Party came to the rescue of these legislators staging demonstrations and even a delegation of the party met Governor Vishnu Kant Shastri and submitted a memorandum alleging harassment of those legislators who had revolted against the Mayawati regime.

National General Secretary of the Samajwadi Party Amar Singh who rushed to the city called the arrests as “a mark of desperations” for the Mayawati-led government. The Chief Minister is using power to silence her detractors, he said at a press conference here today.

He even blamed Governor Vishnu Kant Shastri playing a partisan role and claimed that this drama was being enacted at the behest of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.

It is not the first time that the police had taken action against these two independent legislators. The police had earlier raided the Jaunpur residence of Dhananjay Singh and had filed cases of extortion against Raghuraj Pratap Singh. Ms Mayawati had denied that these actions were “politically motivated”.

As per police information these legislators were picked up from their residences at around 3 am. Raghuraj Pratap Singh, leader of the Independent legislators’ group which had recently withdrawn support from the Mayawati government, was taken to the cantonment police station while Dhananjay Singh was kept at the Gomti Nagar police station.

SSP Anil Agarwal told newspersons that the action was taken against these legislators following an FIR lodged by BJP legislator Puran Singh Bundela saying that he was intimidated by Raghuraj Pratap Singh and Dhananjay Singh yesterday night when he was coming back to his residence from the BJP office.

“As it was a named FIR, we were forced to take action against the legislators,” he said.

Incidentally, till yesterday, Bundela was one of the active members of the dissidents’ group but after his meeting with former BJP national President Kushabhau Thakre he issued statement “reaffirming his faith in the BJP”. This development shows that cracks have appeared in the dissident group.

Leader of the Save BJP Committee Ganga Bhakt Singh, who too submitted a memorandum to the Governor against the arrest of the legislators, denied any division in the dissident group. “Bundela was intimidated by the Chief Minister to file this FIR,” he said after coming out of the Raj Bhavan. However, the indications give a clear signal that the BJP leadership has been able to lure some dissident legislators back to party fold. Former minister Shiva Kant Ojha, who till other day was baying for the blood of Urban Development Minister Lalji Tandon, today claimed himself “to be a loyal soldier of the BJP.”

He said whatever problems they had, they would solve it on the party platform. When asked then why they had made their grievances public, he said “those were emotional outburst”.

Another dissident legislator Awadh Pal Singh too reaffirmed faith in the party leadership and said there was no question of forming a separate outfit as claimed by some leaders.

The two MLAs had been booked under the Gangsters Act and were produced before a local court. They were remanded in judicial custody until November 8. FIRs were registered against the MLAs for attempt to murder, abduction and possession of illegal weapons.

Meanwhile, denying the arrests of the MLAs as politically motivated, Ms Mayawati said today that they were nabbed only after they threatened dissident BJP MLA Puran Singh Bundela.

Addressing a press conference in Saharanpur, Ms Mayawati described as “canard” reports that the arrest of the two was politically motivated. She said her government was comfortably placed and did not need to resort to such gimmicks to shore up her majority.