A senior BJP MLA from Gorakhpur on Thursday trained his guns on two senior officials concerned with the law and order in Uttar Pradesh, asking Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to replace them with “capable” officials if he wanted to protect his image.
In a reply to a tweet, MLA Radha Mohan Das Agarwal posted that the authority of the police was waning in the State. Mr. Agarwal also accused the Director General of Police and the Additional Chief Secretary (Home) of failing to discharge their duties.
Murder case
Though Mr. Agarwal deleted his tweet, while talking to The Hindu he confirmed he made the post. He reiterated his stance and said he had been trying to draw attention of the two senior officials towards the police inaction in a murder case in Lakhimpur Kheri but did not get any response from them.
“Be it the government of the SP or BSP or any other government, officials have always picked my calls,” said Mr. Agarwal. “And these officials will also have to pick up my calls. I will make sure they do,” he asserted.
Mr. Agarwal said a man was murdered in Kanshiram Colony of Lakhimpur Kheri district last month but the police were yet to take any action. If a person delayed filing an FIR, it was considered mala fide, similarly a delay in action by the police would also be considered mischievous, said the legislator.
“That an MLA of 20 years has to frown to force action shows that some lack has come about in the system,” said Mr. Agarwal, but did not specify when asked to explain. Mr. Agarwal has been the MLA of Gorakhpur City seat since 2002.
‘Protecting image’
Mr. Agarwal stressed that he was concerned about protecting the image of the BJP government and there was only one parameter to assess it, the contentment of the public.
Asked how he would measure the current law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh, Mr. Agarwal said this was not his subject. “My subject is as the MLA of Gorakhpur to struggle against injustice and if officials are not willing to listen, compel them to do so,” he said.
The MLA said the police should not only be sensitive but also take strict action against criminals. And those police officers, from inspector rank to higher-level officers who tried to protect criminals, their jobs should be taken away, he said.
‘Internal democracy’
Mr. Agarwal, however, clarified that his critical post did not mean he was rebelling against his government or the Chief Minister and stressed that there was “internal democracy” in his party.
“I would want to improve the image of the BJP. I will fight for it. And if someone tries to present it in a way that I am going against BJP, then I will consider them evil and stupid,” he said.
Mr. Agarwal later tweeted that the Additional Chief Secretary (Home) and the DGP had personally informed him of the arrest of the accused in the Lakhimpur Kheri murder case.
In 2017, the MLA landed in a controversy after he was caught on camera allegedly berating a woman IPS officer for trying to evict anti-liquor protesters. The police officer Charu Nigam was seen breaking into tears as Mr. Agarwal reprimanded her.
