Death Of Mukhtar Ansari: BJP Slams Opposition For Backing A Criminal; Akhilesh Yadav Asks For SC-Monitored Probe

A day after the death of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today lashed out at the Opposition parties and warned the masses to stay aware of their tactics of communal polarisation.

Ansari, a murder convict who had been an MLA in Uttar Pradesh, passed away on Thursday in the Banda Medical College owing to cardiac arrest. However, Ansari's son Umar Ansari has raised the angle of slow poisoning.

What did the BJP leaders say?

Launching a scathing attack on the Opposition, BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said,"Ghazipur, Mau, Jaunpur, Azamgarh, and Balia were known as the epicentre of the comrades. How did these regions become the hotspot of criminals?... We all need to beware. Their tactics of communal polarisation have been nullified by PM Narendra Modi's efforts of inclusive empowerment."

Furthermore, slamming the Opposition for backing a criminal, BJP leader Sidharth Nath Singh said, "Mukhtar Ansari is a criminal...leaders of SP, Congress and BSP are jumping now, showing how much pain they have for a criminal. Serious allegations have been made against Mukhtar Ansari and even the court sentenced him to life imprisonment but still their pain towards him indicates how they (SP, Congress and BSP) backed the protection of 'mafia raj',” he said.

SP demands SC-monitored probe

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Friday sought a Supreme Court-monitored probe into the matter.

"It is the foremost responsibility and duty of the government to protect someone's life in every situation and at every place," Akhilesh Yadav said.

"The death of a hostage or prisoner in any of the following circumstances will erode public confidence in the judicial process -- while confined in a police station, in a fight inside the jail, on falling ill inside the prison, while being taken to hospital, during treatment in hospital, by showing a false encounter, by showing a false suicide, by showing casualties in an accident -- all such doubtful cases should be probed under the supervision of a Supreme Court judge," he added.

Besides Yadav, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati also demanded a high-level probe into Ansari's death.

"The persistent apprehensions and serious allegations made by Mukhtar Ansari's family regarding his death in jail require a high-level investigation so that the true facts of his death can be revealed," she said.