In a terse warning issued to UP chief minister Mayawati, the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh has asked the chief minister to stop intimidating its legislators and forcing them to quit the party.
The Samajwadi Party has asked the UP governor to intervene in the matter and ensure that SP leaders were not unduly harassed by the Mayawati government.
"Ms Mayawati has used the carrot-and-stick policy ever since she came to power in 2007 to wean away Samajwadi MLAs. Her officers have been using all kinds of tactics to pressurise and intimidate our MLAs with false criminal cases which get resolved as soon as the legislator agrees to quit the SP and join the BSP. This must stop or else the BSP must be prepared to face the consequences," said Shivpal Singh Yadav, senior SP leader and leader of Opposition in the UP Assembly.
Citing the example of Anup Sanda, SP MLA from Sultanpur, who had been booked for exploitation and rape, Mr Yadav said that the young legislator had been booked in a case which had no merit and had already been investigated earlier.
"Our MLA is being harassed and intimidated and officers are asking him to join the BSP if he wishes to save his skin. Earlier, the BSP had applied similar pressure tactics on our MLAs including Nawab Kazim Ali, Vijay Singh and Chandra Bhadra Singh — all of whom resigned to get re-elected on a BSP ticket. Recently, Sultan Beg was forced to profess his loyalty to the BSP to save himself from a volley of criminal cases," the Leader of Opposition said.
Mr Yadav further said that criminal cases were being heaped on Samajwadi Party workers — irrespective of their stature and position — because the ruling BSP wanted to demoralise our cadres and weaken the main Opposition party in the state.
He explained that SP leaders were being identified in every district and criminal cases were being registered against them.
"It almost seems as if we are living in an enemy country. What is even more shocking is the fact that the bureaucracy has lost its sense of dignity, impartiality and fair-play. I want to warn officials who are working as BSP agents that they will be made to pay for their sins when the Samajwadi Party comes to power in UP. Elections are a year and a half away and the people of this state are keenly watching the behaviour of certain officials," he warned.
He further appealed to his party workers to exercise restraint.