This was something the Samajwadi Party leadership had never expected when it accepted the resignation of Raghuraj Pratap Singh, a.k.a. Raja Bhaiyya, after his recent indictment in the murder of a DSP.
Ground support for the former minister is swelling, and more and more legislators, cutting across party lines, are saying the action was “unfair and unwarranted”. The Samajwadi Party appears “dismayed” at how its own MLAs and ministers are backing Raja Bhaiyya.
Independent MLA Akhilesh Singh said Wednesday: “It is clear Raja Bhaiyya has no involvement... and has been framed at the behest of certain bureaucrats. The government acted in haste in taking his resignation. If this (becomes) a trend, anyone can get a minister dropped by lodging an FIR against him”.
Akhilesh Singh added he will now organise protests and meetings to mobilise support for Raja Bhaiyya to ensure he is not victimised further.
SP MLC Yeshwant Singh defended Raja Bhaiyya, saying that on the day the incident occurred the Raja was in Lucknow and himself briefed the chief minister about it. “Would he have done that if he had any involvement?” he asked.
Many Samajwadi MLAs also questioned the veracity of claims by the slain DSP’s widow. “We would like to know why she is targeting Raja Bhaiyya. She has been saying on all TV channels that her husband was shot in both legs, and one shot was fired into his heart. The post-mortem report says he received only one gunshot injury that proved fatal. He was shot from the back and the bullet pierced his heart,” said a senior SP minister known to be sympathetic towards the Raja.