Nuh violence accused poses with Yogi at BJP's rally in Faridabad

The BJP rally addressed by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has not only left many surprised, but also attracted attack by the opposition parties like the Congress.

Bittu Bajrangi alias Rajkumar Panchal  who had been booked by the police in connection with the violence in Nuh district last year, waved at the people during the election meeting held in NIT Assembly segment here on Saturday. He was seen standing on the stage, along with the Yogi Adityanath, local MP Krishan Pal Gurjar and the party candidates from NIT, Badkhal, Ballabgarh and Prithla. Just after Yogi arrived on the stage to address the meeting, Bittu Bajrangi came on the stage from behind and started showing victory sign with Yogi and others. He sidelined Prithla candidate Tekchand and then pushed Union Minister Krishan Pal Gurjar to pose with other leaders. He remained seated on the stage till the meeting was over.

While this left many people amused, the party leaders claimed that Bittu Bajrangi was there to support the party candidate only. However, this has led to a series of discussions and attacks among the political circles, who claim that if Bittu had been a supporter of the BJP candidate, then why did he filed his nomination papers as an independent candidate from here.

“The presence of the violence accused on the stage, where high-profile leaders, not only raises question on the efficacy of the security cordon provided to Yogi Adityanath, but also reveals the double standards of the party in matter of taking support or patronising individuals with criminal record,’’ says  Neeraj Sharma, Congress candidate from the NIT Assembly segment.

He said while on one hand the BJP had been targeting the Congress candidates in Nuh, the presence of Bittu exposed the real face of this party. Describing it as BJP’s strategy to befool the people in the name of religion, a senior Congress leader, Baljeet Kaushik, said it was a proof of how the BJP was playing with the sentiments of people by supporting the accused of communal violence. Local leader and AAP candidate from Tigaon, Abhash Chandila, alleged that in order to tap a certain vote bank, the BJP had been following a divide and rule policy.

District BJP chief Raj Kumar Vohra said since Bittu had come to support the official party candidate Satish Fagna from the NIT segment. NIT DCP Kuldeep Singh said only those people were allowed to attend the party programme whose names were given by the organisers.