The visuals showed BJP MP Pankaj Gupta folding his hands in front of officials.
Unnao, Uttar Pradesh:
A BJP lawmaker in the city of Uttar Pradesh, Unnao, staged a five-hour sit-in with his supporters outside a police station, accusing local officers of having a “caste mindset” and Linking them to the Samajwadi Party of former Chief Minister Akshilesh Yadav. He refused to call off the protest until senior police officers came to meet him early this morning.
However, district officials claimed the BJP leader was angry at a police eviction campaign.
Pankaj Gupta, MP for Unnao, about 45 km from the state capital Lucknow, arrived at Sadar police station shortly before midnight with his supporters and sat down to protest at the entrance to the police station.
The footage shows the lawmaker in a green t-shirt, wearing a mask, seated with his supporters. However, the group of men have been seen ignoring government-imposed social distancing standards amid the novel coronavirus pandemic in videos on the site.
In multiple statements to the media during his nightly protest, Mr. Gupta insisted that his protest was not directed against Yogi Adityanath’s government but “the negligent attitude of the local police” which he said , “always showed a state of mind of the Samajwadi party”.
Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party ruled the state between 2012 and 2017 before Yogi Adityanath was elected to power.
“Today, all the limits have been crossed. An old woman was assaulted and shot. I called the cops and they said we didn’t have time at the moment … ‘we will leave to make arrests later,’ I was told. Gone, the BJP has treated the police like corona warriors. The Chief Minister also gave them the freedom to work. But the police officials here have a clear Samajwadi Party mindset … They just don’t want to get out of their casteist mindset, “Gupta said.
In photos taken early this morning, the district police chief was seen speaking to the MLA – after which he canceled the dharna.
“The MLA came to the police station. Measures were taken against the construction of a temple by encroaching on government land. He said people were beaten during the eviction. We will investigate and take action, “Ravindra Kumar, District Magistrate, Unnao, told reporters this morning.
