Latest news with #Jatav
Hindustan Times
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
BSP was compelled to bring back Akash Anand: Nagina MP
Azad Samaj Party (ASP) chief Chandra Shekhar Azad on Sunday attacked recently appointed Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief national coordinator Akash Anand, and stated that people had rejected him. 'Due to compulsions, the BSP opened its doors for him even after his expulsion. There is no option for the BSP,' said Azad, who's also the Lok Sabha member from Nagina. Azad was speaking at the 'Astitva Bachao - Bhai Chara Banao' (Save Existence – Build Brotherhood) - Parbudh Jan Sammelan at the KGMU Convention Center auditorium here. The BSP is projecting Akash as the young face of the party to take on the challenges posed by Azad, who is working to expand the base of his party among the Dalit community. Soon, Anand is expected to be made the political heir of BSP chief Mayawati. Lashing out at the BSP, Azad said the ASP would fulfil the dreams of Dalit icons Bhim Rao Ambedkar and Kanshi Ram. The ASP organised the Sammelan in the state capital to send a message to the Dalit community. Along with the dominant Jatav community members, members of Dalit, OBC and Muslim communities were also invited to the meeting. While the BSP is battling to save its national party status and resolve the infighting in the party, Azad is seeing an opportunity to expand the base of his party in the area that has been dominated by the BSP. The ASP chief called upon the party members to strengthen the organisation before the 2027 assembly election. 'Political power will empower the weaker section. Several people belonging to the Dalit community have died in police custody in Uttar Pradesh. The police have become a tool of the government to commit atrocities on the weak. The people should unite to grab power in the 2027 assembly election,' he said. The deliberate attempt not to conduct a caste-based census of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) by the central government was a well-planned conspiracy against the principles of social justice, he noted and added this was an attempt to suppress the actual number of Bahujan Samaj and their rights. 'The present government is engaged in making reservations ineffective and weakening the basic spirit of the Constitution. We have to remain constantly vigilant and organised to protect the constitutional rights given by Bhim Rao Ambedkar,' he said. 'It is necessary that scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and backward classes get reservation in the private sector too, so that inclusive development can be ensured,' he added. Raising questions over electronic voting machines (EVMs), the MP said they were against the transparency of democracy and public trust. 'This system seems to be a part of the conspiracy of the ruling class, whose aim is to control the election process,' he said.
The Print
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Print
Behind Apna Dal (S) naming a Dalit UP chief, a bid to cut into BSP's voter base
Gautam, an old loyalist and the party's co-operative wing chief, has now taken up the responsibility. The 60-year-old hails from the Sitapur district, and has also been a Dalit rights activist and social worker for the past two decades. Earlier this month, the former state president, Raj Kumar Pal, had resigned from the position after accusing Anupriya and her husband Ashish Patel—a minister in Uttar Pradesh cabinet—of neglecting him and mistreating party workers. Lucknow: Union Minister Anupriya Patel's Apna Dal (Sonelal) appointed Jatav R.P. Gautam as the president of its Uttar Pradesh unit Thursday, in a move which is being viewed as the party's attempt to woo the Dalit community. The position of state president was previously held by an OBC leader (Pal), but now the party has picked a Jatav (segment of Dalit community) leader for the role for the first time in a bid to increase its outreach, according to party functionaries. 'This is the first time we have appointed a Jatav state chief, in line with our social engineering plan. We are hoping for positive results,' Ashish Patel told ThePrint. A senior functionary said, on the condition of anonymity, that the party wants to step out of the image of an OBC party. 'This move comes at a time when the support base of BSP (Bahujan Samaj Party), which is considered the first choice of Jatavs, has been shrinking for the last few years. Jatavs are looking for an alternative. So, our leadership has decided to focus on increasing its base. The population of Jatavs is above 12 percent in the state, which is significant in creating an impact in electoral politics,' the leader told ThePrint. Now, as the party focuses on the preparation for the upcoming local body elections this year and the 2027 assembly elections, Gautam has been given this big responsibility, he added. However, Apna Dal (S) is not the only party eyeing BSP's core vote bank. The Samajwadi Party's 'Pichda, Dalit, Alpasankhyak (backward-Dalit-minority)' plank got a big boost in April this year, following the induction of former minister and BSP founding member Daddu Prasad, along with a few other local BSP leaders. Before this, SP had inducted several BSP leaders last year, too. Additionally, SP's district units had also held a week-long 'Swambhiman Samman Samaroh' to mark the birth anniversary of B.R. Ambedkar this year. The aim was to reach out to prominent members of the Dalit community at grassroot level and felicitate them. Similarly, Nagina MP Chandrashekhar Azad-led Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) is also planning to expand their base, having completed the process of appointing local units in all 75 districts of the state. UP-based political analyst Shilp Shikha Singh explained that BSP's 'downfall' has opened up space for other parties in terms of the Dalit voter base. 'Every party has realised after Lok Sabha results in UP that there is scope to gain this 'loyal' vote bank of the BSP, as the old party is not able to perform well in polls. The grand celebration announcements on Ambedkar Jayanti last month have also given a hint that every party is eyeing Dalit votes. As of now, it seems like a smart move by a BJP ally (Apna Dal).' (Edited by Mannat Chugh) Also Read: Why Raj Kumar Pal stepped down as UP chief of Apna Dal (S), a '2-personality show'
Time of India
6 days ago
- Time of India
20 years gone, man acquitted in double murder case in Ghaziabad
Ghaziabad: Twenty years after being charged with a double murder he didn't commit, Bheema Jatav finally saw justice. But the taste of freedom will elude him still. On April 29, the court of additional sessions judge Shiv Kumar Tiwary acquitted Jatav in connection with the two-decade-old murder case. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now But Jatav will continue to stay in Dasna jail in connection with another case against him in Hapur. His acquittal in the murder case came through the efforts of a lawyer provided to him under UP govt's Legal Aid Defence Counsel System (LADCS). The case dates back to Oct 11, 2003, when two bodies bearing injury marks were discovered near a forest in Noornagar of Sihani. Following police advertisements, Shashibala Devi from Meerut identified one of the bodies as that of her son Ankit Gupta, and the other of his friend Monu. Acting on a tip off, the city cops arrested Jatav and filed a chargesheet against him on March 20, 2004. He was charged with murder under IPC Section 302, destroying evidence under Section 201, and under Section 25/4 of the Arms Act. Without any means for legal representation, Jatav remained in jail until lawyers discovered his case during an LADCS awareness camp in 2024. Assistant legal defence counsel Vichitra Kumar, who represented Jatav in court, highlighted crucial gaps in the prosecution's case. "The prosecution relied heavily on the accused's extra-judicial confession. We found significant discrepancies between the complainant's statement and her testimony in court," Kumar said. The court also noted inconsistencies in the prosecution's timeline and the alleged recovery of the murder weapon. After hearing both parties, it acquitted Jatav on all charges. Though acquitted, Jatav will remain in custody. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now In these 20 years, Jatav has been in and out of jail several times. After his arrest on Jan 7, 2004, Jatav remained in jail till May 26 that year, when he secured a bail. During this period, he worked as a labourer and did not jump the bail conditions till 2011, when he stopped reporting to the nearest police station. Jatav was arrested again on May 19, 2011, and continued to remain in custody till Feb 4, 2017. He violated bail conditions once again, and was taken into judicial custody on Aug 22, 2022. Since then, he continues to remain in jail. "Bheema Jatav comes from an extremely humble background. His elderly mother, the only one in his family, cannot run for court formalities. While in jail, Jatav was not earning enough to afford a private lawyer. So, he had left all hopes of presenting his case," Kumar said. The LADCS was implemented across district courts in the state in 2023. "Under the Legal Services Authorities Act, free legal aid is everyone's right. LADCS ensures legal representation for those who can't afford it, particularly in criminal cases," Kumar said. The district legal services team in Ghaziabad, led by chief legal defence counsel Kiran Pal Singh, has conducted about 50 jail visits in 2024-25, taking up over 1,000 cases. "We've resolved 260 cases, and 812 are pending trials," Singh said.
India Gazette
16-05-2025
- Politics
- India Gazette
"No excuse, apologise unconditionally": UP BJP leader Aparna Yadav slams SP MP Ram Gopal Yadav
New Delhi [India], May 16 (ANI): BJP leader and Vice Chairperson of the Uttar Pradesh Women's Commission, Aparna Yadav, on Friday slammed Samajwadi Party MP Ram Gopal Yadav over his controversial remarks on Wing Commander Vyomika Singh and Air Marshal AK Bharti. The BJP leader demanded an unconditional apology from Ram Gopal Yadav and the INDIA bloc, stating that their derogatory remarks are unacceptable. She pointed out that the country is in the 21st century and that the internet age has made it impossible to hide or alter information. Speaking to ANI, Aparna Yadav said, '...His party, the INDI alliance, should give no excuse but apologise unconditionally. Many of the leaders of the INDI parties have made derogatory remarks. We are in the 21st-century India, and the country understands everything. We are living in the Internet age. How can he think that his statement was altered..' The controversy surrounds Ram Gopal Yadav's comments on the Indian Air Force's leadership, specifically targeting Wing Commander Vyomika Singh and Air Marshal AK Bharti. Meanwhile, Ram Gopal Yadav defended his caste-related remarks on Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, referring to many cases of atrocities against minorities, Dalits and backwards classes in north Indian states, especially Uttar Pradesh. Taking a dig at UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who labelled his remarks as 'casteist', Yadav said that the CM, under whose nose the atrocities are committed, reacted to his statement without even listening to it. He also ridiculed the media channels, saying nobody except the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) trusts them. 'I am surprised that the Chief Minister, under whose nose unimaginable atrocities are being committed on minorities, Dalits and backward classes, tweeted without even listening to my entire statement. I have no complaint against the media channels that have taken over Islamabad and Rawalpindi because no one except the ruling party trusts them,' Yadav posted on X. The SP MP clarified that he was making a point about people with 'corrupt mentality' that those who 'abused' Colonel Sofiya Qureshi based on her religion would have abused Wing Commander Vyomika Singh and Air Marshal AK Bharti, had they known their caste location. 'In some states of North India, particularly Uttar Pradesh, false cases are being filed against people based on religion, caste and class. Encounters are being carried out based on caste and religion. Property is being seized by declaring them gangsters on the basis of caste, religion and class. Women are being tortured on the basis of caste, religion and class. Postings of employees and officers are done on the basis of caste, religion and class...,' Yadav said. 'I had made statements about people with such corrupt mentality in a programme yesterday, stating that Colonel Sofia was abused because she was identified by her religion, Foreign Secretary Mistry was abused, if these abusers had come to know that Vyomika Singh is Jatav and Air Marshal Bharti is Yadav, then they would not have refrained from abusing these officers also,' he added. (ANI)
Hindustan Times
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Yogi Adityanath slams SP leader's comment on IAF wing commander Vyomika Singh: ‘Grave insult'
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath slammed Samajwadi Party leader Ramgopal Yadav for alleging that Madhya Pradesh BJP minister Vijay Shah spared IAF wing commander Vyomika Singh from abuse as he did not know her caste. The SP leader was criticising the BJP minister for his derogatory comment on Indian Army colonel Sofiya Qureshi which drew widespread ire resulting in the registration of an FIR against Shah on the order of the Madhya Pradesh high court. The minister had apologised for his comment. Condemning the SP leader, Adityanath said that the armed forces' uniform is not seen through 'casteist' eyes as every soldier does 'Rashtradharma' (duty towards the nation) and is neither a representative of any caste nor of a religion. 'The Samajwadi Party's national general secretary's act of binding a brave daughter within the ambit of caste is not only a display of his party's narrow-mindedness but is also a grave insult to the valour of the army and the country's identity,' the chief minister wrote in Hindi on X. 'This is the same mentality which dares to divide even patriotism in the name of appeasement and vote bank politics. The public will once again respond to this distorted casteist thinking,' Adityanath added. Also read | Ramgopal Yadav's remark on IAF officer Vyomika Singh sparks row; Yogi Adityanath slams SP leader Ramgopal Yadav slammed the BJP's 'Tiranga Yatra' as a gimmick being done for the sake of elections. 'These people (BJP) are taking out the Tiranga Yatra... They do everything only for elections. What is the need to take out the Tiranga Yatra? If there is a need then the whole country should be taken into confidence, all the political parties should be taken into confidence,' he said. Also read | Meet Vyomika Singh, IAF wing commander who led the 'Operation Sindoor' briefing The SP leader stated further, 'Vyomika Singh is a Jatav from Haryana, and Air Marshal Bharti is a Yadav from Purnia. So all three were from PDA (Picchda, dalit, Alpsankhyak or Backwards, dalits and minorities). One was abused as she was a Muslim. The other was spared thinking that she was a Rajput... and there was no information (to them) about Bharti.' Meanwhile, visuals from ANI showed the SP party office in Lucknow sporting banners with words, 'Sofiya ka apmaan, desh ka apmaan hai. BJP desh se maafi maange (Insulting Sofia is an insult to the country. BJP should apologize to the country).'
