Mukhtar Ansari's MLA son Abbas deliberately disqualified by govt: Akhilesh

Lucknow, Jun 6 (PTI) Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Friday said SBSP MLA Abbas Ansari was disqualified from the Uttar Pradesh Assembly "deliberately" by the government and said he saw caste bias in such matters.

Ansari, the son of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, was disqualified as MLA after he was sentenced to a two-year jail term in a hate speech case.

He won from the Mau Sadar assembly seat on a Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) ticket when the party was in an alliance with the Samajwadi Party in 2022. The SBSP has since switched to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance and its party president is a cabinet minister.

Responding to a question on Ansari's disqualification, Yadav told reporters, "A case will be registered against me if I say something. Abbas Ansari's membership was deliberately taken away. The government took it away." "If MLAs can be disqualified due to such statements, then look at the kind of statements people in the government are making. Will they remind me of my DNA? Will they question samajwadis' DNA? Those who made these statements, will they be also disqualified?" he asked.

Yadav's charge on "DNA" stems from a war of words last month between his party and the ruling BJP over Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak's remarks on the "DNA of Samajwadi Party".

BJP leaders at the time had slammed a post by the SP's official X handle regarding the deputy CM.

Pathak had later hit out saying the SP was "born with the DNA of Muslim appeasement", explaining that he was referring to their "political DNA" and not family lineage.

Yadav asked those making statements on the DNA of his party members will face similar action in courts.

"I think some of these actions are taken on the basis of caste. Sometimes people are getting certain posts to get a specific verdict. That's why we have been saying that the Constitution is in danger," the SP leader said.

He said only SP leaders are losing members over their statements. "Will BJP leaders never lose membership over their statements? he asked.

The Mau seat that Ansari represented is now vacant.

During the last assembly elections, Ansari was accused of threatening the Mau administration during a public meeting at Paharpur ground. He allegedly said he will “settle scores and teach them a lesson” after the elections.

Ansari was convicted by the MP-MLA court under Indian Penal Code sections 189 (threat to cause harm to public servant), 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on the basis of religion, caste, place of birth, residence and language and spoiling the harmony), 171F (undue influence in election) and 506 (criminal intimidation).

He was sentenced to two years imprisonment in the 2022 hate speech case by a special MP-MLA court on May 31.

Under the Representation of the People Act, there is a provision to terminate the membership of the legislative house if the court sentences a member to two years or more. PTI NAV SKY SKY