Opposition attacks BJP as Bittu Bajrangi shares dais with Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath

The presence of Bittu Bajrangi, an accused in the Nuh violence, on the stage during a BJP rally addressed by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has not only left many surprised but also become a political fodder for the Opposition to attack the saffron party.

Bittu Bajrangi, alias Rajkumar Panchal, who had been booked by the police in connection with the Nuh violence last year, waved at the people during the election meeting held in the NIT Assembly segment here on Saturday. He was seen standing on the stage along with chief guest Yogi, local MP Krishan Pal Gurjar and candidates of the party from NIT, Badkhal, Ballabhgarh and Prithla.

Just after Yogi arrived on the stage to address the meeting, Bajrangi came on the stage from behind and started showing victory sign with the UP CM and others.

He remained seated at the stage in the back row till the meeting was over. Political experts say his presence on the stage with UP CM, who has a Z-plus security, has raised some eyebrows. Party leaders claim Bittu had only come to support the party candidate.

However, this development has raised eyebrows, with political leaders and supporters claiming that if Bittu had been a supporter of the BJP candidate, why he filed his nomination papers as an Independent from here.

“His presence on the stage with high-profile leaders questions the efficacy of the security cordon provided to CM Yogi and the double standards of the party in the matter of taking support or patronising the persons with a criminal record,” says Neeraj Sharma, Congress candidate from the NIT Assembly segment. He said Bittu’s presence at the meeting exposed the real face of the party.

Describing it as a strategy to befool people in the name of religion, Baljeet Kaushik, a senior Congress party leader, said it was a proof of how the BJP was playing with the sentiments of people and had been supporting a man who was allegedly involved in communal violence. The local leader and AAP party candidate from Tigaon, Abhash Chandila, alleged that the BJP had been following a divide and rule policy in order to tap a certain vote bank.

District BJP chief Raj Kumar Vohra said Bittu, who was an Independent candidate, had decided to support the official party candidate, Satish Fagna.