UP BJP Chief Says Priyanka Gandhi Staging Drama Over Sonbhadra Clash

Lucknow: Accusing Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra of staging a drama with her protest over the killing of 10 people in Sonbhadra, newly-appointed UP BJP chief Swatantra Dev Singh Saturday said the grand old party must abstain from it.

He said it was a sad incident, but the Uttar Pradesh government worked swiftly and almost all the accused were arrested.

"Action is being taken against all those guilty and officials have been suspended for laxity. This incident is a result of the misdeeds (kukarm) of the Congress, whenever it was in power. They indulged in corruption," he alleged.

Stepping up the attack, he alleged, "Priyanka Gandhi is staging a drama with her dharna. She is doing politics even after her meeting with 20 families was facilitated by the state government. This act is only meant to politicise the pain of the poor people and to derive political mileage from it. The Congress must abstain from it."

Singh said the Congress wanted to disturb the good atmosphere in the state and it was not bothered about ensuring justice for families of the affected people. "She is only shedding crocodile tears. It has been the policy of the Congress to grab people's land. The drama must stop and she should not vitiate the atmosphere," he said.

Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma Saturday alleged that lands of dalits and tribals used for farming were grabbed by the Congress.

"The trust set up by the Congress in 1955 was given to some person in 1989. It was during the tenure of Congress governments that land of Dalits and tribals was given to land mafia. This dispute dates back to the Congress era," he alleged.

The Congress and its allies, the Samajwadi Party and the BSP, had illegally occupied land of the poor during their regime, Sharma claimed. "Illegal properties worth of crores owned by members of these parties are now being discovered. The BJP government is investigating it thoroughly," he said.

"It is the Congress which distributed the land of the poor among influential people and now, Priyanka Gandhi is staging political drama (over it)," the deputy chief minister said.