Samajwadi Party alleges attack on UP LoP in Gorakhpur, demands strict action

Gorakhpur/Lucknow: Samajwadi Party veteran and Leader of Opposition in Uttar Pradesh Assembly, Mata Prasad Pandey, faced strong resistance from BJP workers and members of the business community during a visit to Gorakhpur on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party alleged that Pandey was attacked by anti-social elements.

Pandey, who was scheduled to pass through the Virasat Corridor and address the media at Tiwari Hata, was stopped mid-way at Narmal Chauraha by a group of BJP workers and traders who chanted slogans like "SP wapas jao" (Go back SP).

A minor scuffle ensued, in which some vehicles of the Samajwadi Party sustained damages, including broken windows.

In response, Pandey and several Samajwadi Party workers staged a sit-in protest on the road. A parallel sit-in protest was staged by BJP supporters and members of the trader community at the same spot. Police intervened to disperse the BJP crowd, allowing Pandey to proceed after briefly interacting with some traders. Soon after, the Samajwadi Party convoy resumed its journey to Tiwari Hata.

Talking to reporters later, Pandey said, "Traders are not getting fair compensation of land. When we went to inspect the situation where houses are being demolished for road widening, we were stopped mid-way by BJP workers and an MLA. The window of our vehicle was smashed."

Responding to the incident, BJP MLA Vipin Singh said, "When Gorakhpur and the entire state are witnessing rapid development, the Samajwadi Party is resorting to such theatrics for political mileage. The business community now sees through their agenda, and that's why this protest happened."

Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav alleged that Pandey and former MLA Lal Bihari Yadav were "attacked" by anti-social elements during their visit to Gorakhpur.

In a post on micro-blogging site X, Yadav termed the incident "highly condemnable" and said it raises serious concerns about the state of democracy in Uttar Pradesh.

"The attack on Mata Prasad Pandey ji and Lal Bihari Yadav ji by anti-social elements during their Gorakhpur visit is deeply condemnable," Yadav said in the post in Hindi.

"If political outreach and public grievance redressal are met with deadly assaults by state-backed anarchic forces, then this can only be called rule by anarchy," he added.

The Samajwadi Party chief demanded strict and impartial action against the culprits, warning that failure to do so would be seen as a "deliberate conspiracy".

"If action is not taken, it will be believed that this is a case of 'jo bhaata nahi, use hataaya jaata hai, jo PDA nahi, use sataaya jaata hai' (You remove those who you don't like, you trouble whose who are from the PDA community) -- a well-planned plot," he said, alluding to the government's housing scheme and political rivalry.

The official X handle of Samajwadi Party also chipped in, accusing the BJP-led government of shielding criminals and trying to suppress voices of the affected.

"To silence the truth, the government is relying on goons," the party posted.

"In a shameful act, anti-social elements were used to attack Leader of Opposition Mata Prasad Pandey and Lal Bihari Yadav in Gorakhpur while they were meeting traders victimised by government actions," it read.

The party further alleged that the motive behind the attack was to prevent traders from airing their grievances, and demanded strict and unbiased action from the police.

There was no official response from the local administration or the police regarding the incident. No arrests were made till Wednesday night.