Mayawati Jumps In The Political Slugfest Over Atiq Ahmad, Says The Don Is Product Of Samajwadi Party

Lucknow, February 27 (TNA) After the daylight killing of advocate Umesh Pal and his police gunner in Prayagraj last week, political temperature in the state has flared up to the next level.

While UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, on the floor of Vidhan Sabha charged the Samajwadi Party (SP) of protecting and patronising ciminals and the mafiosi, Akhilesh Yadav retorted by saying that don-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad belonged to the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

“You know he belonged to the BP but you are not naming the BSP since you are friends with that party” the former UP chief minister and the SP chief had charged. On Monday BSP supremo Mayawati jumped in the cauldron and said Atiq Ahmad was “product of the Samajwadi Party”. In a series of tweets, the four-time chief minister of India’s most populous state further stated it was not fair to politicise the gory crime.

Mayawati said that Atiq Ahmed is the product of Samajwadi Party. He was MP and MLA from SP party. Raju Pal's wife has also gone from BSP to SP. She also made it clear that if Shaista Parveen, wife of jaield don Atiq, was found guilty in the course of the probe she will be expelled from the BSP as the party had no place for criminals.

Shaista had recently late last year joined the BSP and it was rumoured that she would be fielded as the BSP candidate from Prayagraj as the mayoral candidate.

Both Shaista and her son Asad have been named in the FIR along with Atiq Ahmed as accused in the Umesh pal murder case. The Dalit leader also added that it was well-known that while the BSP does not punish any innocent it was also true that the party does not promote criminal elements of any caste or religion.

Meanwhile, in a related development, a joint team of the UP Police and the Special Task Force (STF) is likely to fly to Gujarat and interrogate Atiq Ahmad, named in the murder FIR, in the Sabarmati jail where he is lodged.