Modi headache: UP ‘ criminal’ MPS
Prime Minister- designate Narendra Modi has a tough task on his hands in Uttar Pradesh.
Mr Modi, who had promised to keep criminals out of the Lok Sabha, will now find that the maximum criminals from Uttar Pradesh belong to his own party.
The BJP’s sweeping victory in the most populous state may have kept other criminals out but those within the BJP have managed to reach the victory stand on the Modi wave.
For instance, Sachchidanand Sakshi Maharaj, who won the Unnao seat, is facing a number of criminal cases, including murder, attempt to murder, provoking communal disharmony, robbery, dacoity etc. He shot to headlines last year in the murder of his own acolyte Sujata Varma and had earlier been accused of raping one Durga Bharti who stayed in his ashram.
Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who has been elected from Kaiserganj facing charges related to attempt to murder, causing com- munal disharmony and robbery and dacoity. He was also an accused in case related to giving shelter to members of the Dawood Ibrahim gang.
Rama Shankar Katheria, the BJP MP from Agra, has the highest number of criminal cases against him. He is facing 21 cases.
Newly- elected BJP MP from Banda Bhairon Prasad Misra is facing kidnapping charges.
Mr Keshav Maurya, elected from Phulpur on a BJP ticket, is another one facing several criminal cases.
Other BJP MPs from Uttar Pradesh, including Uma Bharti, Maneka Gandhi and Varun Gandhi, are also facing cases but they are mostly related to their political activities.
Interestingly, the seven opposition MPs elected from Uttar Pradesh have a clean state in comparison While Congress MPs Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi do not have even a single case against them, members of the Mulayam Singh Yadav family have only the disproportionate assets cases pending against them.
“We will see if Mr Modi has the courage to initiate action against his own MPs. He has made tall claims in the campaign and now the time has come to fulfil those promises. The people are waiting to see what and how he does this,” said senior SP minister Shivpal Yadav.