Day in the life of UP CM — MLA shot dead, 11 die in Azamgarh

NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 6: Rajnath Singh's ten-day old government in Uttar Pradesh was put to the test today with the killing of BJP MLA Nirbh...

NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 6: Rajnath Singh’s ten-day old government in Uttar Pradesh was put to the test today with the killing of BJP MLA Nirbhay Pal Singh in Saharanpur early this morning. Singh, from the Sarsawa constituency in Saharanpur, was one among two BJP MLAs who, along with a Loktantrik Congress Party MLA, comprised Rajnath Singh’s majority of three. Now, Singh’s death has effectively brought his majority to two.

Though Singh tried to protect himself by firing on his assailants, he died on the spot. The assailants looted his gun and valuables from the house before fleeing. Sub-Inspector Sunil Kumar Ahlawat, who was posted at the police station nearby and who rushed to Singh’s house, was seriously injured in the firing. He has been admitted to a local hospital.

Elsewhere in UP, 11 persons died in Sunni-Shia clashes in Mubarakpur, Azamgarh district late Sunday evening. An indefinite curfew has been clamped in Mubarakpur after members of the Sunni and Shia sects clashed on Sunday night, injuring 32 persons.

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The sectarian clashes and Nirbhay Pal Singh’s killing have put paid to Singh’s claims of curbing the state’s crime rate in 15 days. Bahujan Samaj Party vice-president Mayawati and Samajwadi Party state president Ram Sharan Das seized the moment, demanding the CM’s resignation. “If the Government cannot protect its sitting MLAs, how can the common man feel secure,” asked Mayawati. The House should be dissolved and a fresh election ordered, she said.

After visiting Saharanpur, Rajnath Singh dashed to New Delhi for meetings with Home Minister L.K. Advani and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. The UP government has asked for five battalions of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) from the Union Home Ministry. Singh, however, wouldn’t disclose “at this stage” where the additional para-military force would be stationed.

The Singh-Advani meeting lasted over 45 minutes. Advani said UP was seeking additional forces since three CRPF batallions from the State were being sent to Uttaranchal. However, officials did not rule out immediate redeployment of police and central forces in “communally sensitive” and “violence prone” areas of UP.

Singh promised that his actions following Nirbhay Pal Singh’s killing would make people `sit up and take notice’. The CM also rejected demands for a Government inquiry into the Azamgarh riots. “Inquiries accomplish little. I believe in direct action,” Singh bragged, adding that the Government has already instituted an internal probe into Singh’s killing.

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Uttaranchal’s Governor-designate Surjit Singh Barnala also met Advani. Barnala said his main priority would be to put the new State onto the path of economic empowerment by looking after the interests of “all sections of people”.