Articulating a variety of politics that reeks of lawlessness and retribution, Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav on Thursday asked the BSP government in a threatening tone to release independent MLA Raghuraj Pratap Singh.
Else, BSP leaders should be ready to face the ‘same treatment’ once the Samajwadi Party (SP) returned to power, he said, adding nearly 100,000 SP workers were in jail under the present regime in UP.
Raghuraj Pratap Singh, who is supported by the SP, is facing trial in connection with the attempted murder of a candidate in the local bodies election in December last year.
Yadav said his party had approached Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar too on the issue of the arrest of Singh and SP chief whip Shailendra Kumar. Addressing journalists, Yadav, who met Raghuraj Pratap Singh and others at the Barielly jail on Wednesday, said there was a groundswell of opposition to the state government.
“Every piece of work of the government will be investigated,” Yadav said, adding “the BSP had come to power on the goonda raj (the BSP’s characterisation of the previous SP regime) slogan but now all the criminals have taken shelter in the ruling party”.