Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav strongly condemned the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh on Monday over an attack on party MP Ramji Lal Suman, claiming that it was part of a broader pattern of intimidation against PDA (backwards, Dalits and minorities), in a reference to Suman's caste identity.
SP Rajya Sabha MP Ramji Lal Suman's convoy was attacked in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, by members of the Karni Sena on Sunday, 27 April. The assailants hurled tyres and stones at the vehicles near the Gabhana toll plaza, causing several cars in the high-speed convoy to collide and sustain damage.
Superintendent of police (city) Aligarh Mrigank Shekhar Pathak said no injuries were reported, and MP Suman was safely escorted from the area. In response, the Aligarh police registered a case and suspended two officers — a sub-inspector and a constable — for dereliction of duty. A departmental inquiry has been initiated against the in-charge of Gabhana police station.
Speaking to reporters in Lucknow, Yadav said, "The atmosphere that has been created in Uttar Pradesh today is one where the (Mahindra) Thar and bulldozers have deliberately been turned into symbols of the BJP's dominance and fear."
Asserting that the SP stands by the Constitution and rule of law, Yadav alleged that with the BJP being in power in Uttar Pradesh, certain sections of society have been given complete freedom to commit atrocities because "their people" occupy positions of power at every level.
"The attack on Suman points towards full support from the government machinery. Today, they are intimidating opposition leaders, tomorrow, they will not even spare the common people," he said.
Yadav alleged that this was not the first such attack and that it had the backing of the state's top officials, including the director general of police (DGP).
Accusing the BJP government of selectively targeting PDA communities, Yadav said, "In Allahabad, a Dalit was burnt alive. In Varanasi, a youngster from the Patel community was shot dead. In Jaunpur, a young man was chased and killed. In Rampur, a Dalit deaf-and-mute girl was raped. In Azamgarh, a youngster was killed for raising the Jai Bhim slogan."
He claimed that a new and dangerous trend is emerging in the state but asserted that the SP would not be intimidated by it.
Referring to alleged discrimination in bureaucratic postings, Yadav said, "I have shared the data earlier. If you see the postings at places like Gorakhpur, Amethi and Kushinagar, you will understand. In Kushinagar, among the IPS and PPS officers, there is only one from the PDA communities."
Asked about threats to him on social media platforms, Yadav said, "The reality is that these people are openly mocking law and order. The threats are not just to me, those are a challenge to the chief minister, the DGP and the system. It is a challenge to those in uniform, who are trained to uphold the law. We are political people, we are not going to be afraid of these threats."
Karni Sena state president Gyanendra Singh Chauhan took responsibility of Sunday's incident involving Suman.
"We accept full responsibility for all that took place. We had made a public declaration on social media that we will not allow the entry of Ramji Lal Suman in this district. We did throw tyres on his cavalcade. Some brickbats were also hurled," Chauhan told a television news channel.
He also said, "Throwing tyres on a car is not an act of violence. We wanted Suman to get out of his car so that we could talk to him."
The attack was reportedly in response to MP Suman's recent remarks in Parliament, where he referred to 16th-century Rajput king Rana Sanga as a "traitor" for allegedly inviting Babur to defeat Ibrahim Lodi. These comments sparked outrage among Rajput groups, including the Karni Sena, who viewed them as an affront to their community's pride.
This incident follows a previous attack on MP Suman's residence in Agra last month, where unidentified individuals vandalised property and vehicles. The recurring nature of these attacks has raised serious concerns about the safety of public representatives and the effectiveness of law enforcement in preventing such incidents.
With PTI inputs
