SP leader puts up posters of Chinmayanand, Sengar

LUCKNOW: In a new twist to the ‘name and shame’ hoarding controversy, a Samajwadi Party leader put up banners of former BJP leaders Swami Chinmayanand and Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the city on Thursday night.

However, the banners, having their photos and list of sections under which the leaders were booked, were taken down by the local administration soon after.

The banners, about five of them, were put up by SP leader IP Singh at different places in central Lucknow, near hoardings listing names and photos of CAA protesters.

When contacted, Singh said these banners were erected to send a message to the state government that they had done a wrong by putting up banners with names and pictures of people who protested against the amended citizenship act.

“Our daughters and sisters are in danger from people like Chinmayanand and Sengar. Instead of taking action against them, the BJP government is supporting them,” Singh said.

Sengar, a former BJP MLA has been convicted of raping a minor and killing her father. Chinamayanand, who was a BJP MP and Union minister of state for home, is has been accused of sexually abusing a law student of his college.

The BJP has expelled both Sengar, a rape convict, and Chinmayanand, accused of rape, from the party.

“I have never seen a state government going to the extent of publishing pictures of people to recover money. This shows that the government is working against its

THE BANNERS, ABOUT FIVE OF THEM, WERE PUT UP BY SP LEADER IP SINGH AT DIFFERENT PLACES IN CENTRAL LUCKNOW, NEAR HOARDINGS LISTING NAMES AND PHOTOS OF CAA PROTESTERS.

own people,” Singh said adding that the ‘banner war’ started by the state government can go even further.

“If the government puts up banners in such a way, then people will also put up banners highlighting the wrongs done by the government,” Singh added.

“Samajwadi Party is raising this issue because they don’t have anything else to talk about. The BJP has always worked for the safety of women in Uttar Pradesh,” said Chandra Mohan, office bearer of BJP in UP.

The UP government had put up ‘name and shame’ posters of anti-CAA protesters in Lucknow after which the Allahabad high court had taken suo motu cognisance and ruled that the hoardings should be removed.

But the state government moved the Supreme Court against the HC order, which on Thursday stated that there was no law that could back their action of putting up such roadside posters.

The SC bench refused to stay the March 9 order of the Allahabad HC.