Legal trouble mounts for Samajwadi Party (SP) Lok Sabha MP from Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur Afzal Ansari as a case has been registered against him for allegedly making objectionable remarks on the ongoing Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj, police said on Friday.
The complainant, Devprakash Singh, who is a former district cooperative bank president alleged that the MP said, "If sins are washed away by bathing in the Kumbh, then the gates of Vaikunth (heaven) must be open. Seeing the situation there, it seems that no one will be left in hell." He stated that Ansari's remarks had hurt the sentiments of Hindus and followers of Sanatan Dharma.
As per the details, the MP made the controversial remarks on February 12 during an event organised by the Ravidas Janseva Sansthan Trust at Shaheed Jagpati Ram Chowk to mark the birth anniversary of Sant Ravidas. The complaint also said that Ansari had previously made derogatory remarks about Hindu saints and Sanatan Dharma.
Based on the complaint, an FIR was registered at Shadiabad police station on February 13 under sections 353 (public mischief) of the BNS (Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita), among others, the official said. The police said they are further investigating the matter.
The MP also spoke on the huge crowd of people traveling by trains during the ongoing Maha Kumbh, and said that the condition of trains are such that people are breaking the glass and the women inside are shivering.
He added, "The women are crying and wailing while hiding their children in their laps. The people are breaking the glass of the trains and creating ruckus at the railway station. The police are also worried and the TT has taken off his black coat and kept it in his bag. They fear that the mob might beat them too."
He further added that he saw with his own eyes that the people who were vandalising the trains were between 15 and 20 years of age. "The crowd was so huge that these people were not able to estimate the size. Who knows how many people died in the stampede but the exact count is not known till today. The people who are returning are describing the scene," he said.