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Prayagraj killings: Maya could show the door to Atiq’s wife
In a tweet on Saturday, Mayawati advocated strong action against the guilty in the Prayagraj killing in which unidentified assailants shot dead Umesh Pal and his security personnel
Mafiosi-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad’s wife Shaista Parveen’s political entry into the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) could well be a short-lived one as BSP chief Mayawati could take action against her. Shaista, her husband and their two sons have been named in the sensational killing of Umesh Pal, in Prayagraj, on Friday. Pal was a prime witness to BSP MLA Raju Pal’s murder in 2005.
“During her reign as UP chief minister, Behen Mayawati ji was known for a no-nonsense approach against crime and criminals. So, wait for a while as facts emerge,” a BSP leader said when asked if the party could act against Shaista Parveen, whose entry into the BSP in January was seen as part of Atiq’s plan to gain a political foothold.
In 2021, Parveen had joined AIMIM but hadn’t campaigned for the party in the 2022 UP polls, and in January, made a surprise entry into the BSP.
In a tweet on Saturday, Mayawati advocated strong action against the guilty in the Prayagraj killing in which unidentified assailants shot dead Umesh Pal and his security personnel.
“The daylight killing of Umesh Pal, the main witness in the Raju Pal murder case and his gunner in Prayagraj is most sad and highly condemnable. This incident exposes the UP government’s claim on law and order and the government must take the incident seriously and order a high-level inquiry so that the guilty can be sternly dealt with,” Mayawati tweeted.
Raju Pal was murdered in 2005, soon after he had won from the Allahabad (west) assembly, defeating Atiq’s younger brother, Khalid Azim (aka Ashraf).
In 2009, Mayawati had publicly declared Atiq was behind the killing of her party MLA Raju Pal and announced that neither he nor any of his family members will be inducted into the BSP.
However, in January 2023, Atiq’s wife had surprisingly joined the BSP during its day-long workers’ conference at Sardar Patel Seva Sansthan in Alopibagh, Prayagraj and had thanked the BSP chief for allowing her entry.
In her speech, Parveen herself had stated that Mayawati had assured her of a mayoral ticket from Prayagraj. “Behenji has told me that I will contest mayoral polls but friends, my becoming a mayor won’t make any difference. The real change will happen only after Behenji becomes the chief minister again,” she had said.
“Shaista Parveen was given the membership of the party on Behenji’s orders and if she wants to contest the mayoral elections, we will make a request to the party leadership,” BSP’s zonal in-charge Ghanshyam Chandra Kharwar had confirmed on the occasion.
The much-delayed civic polls are now expected after the dedicated OBC commission set up to decide the backward reservation in these polls submits its report by March 31.
On Saturday, chief minister Yogi Adityanath and former chief minister and present leader of the opposition Akhilesh Yadav had sparred in the assembly over the sensational killing in Prayagraj. While citing the incident as a case of failed law and order, Yadav had also referred to prime suspects (Atiq and family), currently in Gujarat jail, being members of BSP. This had forced a strong retaliation from the chief minister who reminded Yadav that Atiq got political recognition only in the SP and on whose party symbol he won a few elections.
