Even as his protest against the murder of Gonda utensils trader, Vinod Kumar Sahni, 45, sparked speculation, Uttar Pradesh fisheries minister and Nishad Party chief Sanjay Nishad on Friday said his sit-in was for the cause of the Nishad community and it nowhere meant any differences with the BJP government.
“This is for the cause of the community. We have been able to get a case of murder filed in this matter because we are in the government...The Opposition is corrupt. Whatever help we can extend to the community is through the government,” Nishad said when asked to comment on reasons for staging a sit-in at King George’s Medical University in Lucknow and then in Gonda.
On whether he had any differences with the BJP and whether the Nishad Party may consider an alliance with the Samajwadi Party in 2027 UP assembly elections, Nishad replied in the negative and said whatever he had been doing (staging a sit-in) on the issue was in the chief minister’s knowledge.
“I myself and the state government are following the instructions of chief minister Yogi Adityanath,” he said.
Besides joining the victim’s family in a protest at the King George Medical College (KGMU) on Thursday, Nishad on Friday went to Gonda and staged a sit-in there, demanding impartial action against the culprits and an inquiry into administrative lapses in the case.
{{/usCountry}}Besides joining the victim’s family in a protest at the King George Medical College (KGMU) on Thursday, Nishad on Friday went to Gonda and staged a sit-in there, demanding impartial action against the culprits and an inquiry into administrative lapses in the case.
{{/usCountry}}Asked to react to reports in a section of the media that his party joined a sit-in with the Samajwadi Party in Gonda, he said, “These people are opponents of chief minister Yogi Adityanath and me as well. They are not local (from Gonda). The Samajwadi Party placed the Nishad community in the OBC reservation category. Those claiming to be well-wishers should request Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav to get the Nishad community placed in the quota for the Scheduled Castes.”
On whether he refused to accept welcome bouquets from Gonda’s district magistrate and district police chief, Nishad skipped a direct reply and said he has asked the district officials to take strict action against those responsible for the murder. Nishad, in a video clip on social media, is seen telling the district magistrate and district police chief, that the administrative actions are tarnishing the image of the state government as two officers stand with bouquets to welcome the minister.
Sanjay Nishad’s son Praveen Nishad won the Gorakhpur Lok Sabha by-election on the Samajwadi Party ticket in 2018. The Nishad Party had briefly announced an alliance with the Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party coalition for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The Nishad Party, however, soon parted ways with the Opposition camp and aligned with the BJP. Praveen Nishad won the Sant Kabir Nagar Lok Sabha on the BJP ticket in 2019 but lost in 2024.
In 2022, the Nishad Party contested the UP assembly elections in alliance with the BJP and remained part of the NDA in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party national president and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav on Friday demanded a high-level, impartial investigation into Vinod Kumar Sahni’s murder.
“If anyone who still believes in dharma and justice fails to take cognisance of this brutal killing, the PDA community will unite and fight its own battle,” Yadav said in a press statement issued by the SP.
He alleged that the BJP rule has become synonymous with atrocity, injustice and arrogance. He claimed the PDA (Pichhda, Dalit and Alpsankhyak) communities are its primary targets.
Those who believed that aligning with the ruling party would enhance their status and respect have now realised the opposite, he said.
“In the BJP, one may get a ceremonial post, but not real respect,” Akhilesh Yadav said.