A petrol pump illegally built by Samajwadi Party MLA Shazil Islam Ansari was bulldozed on Thursday, just days after the MLA was sued for making provocative remarks against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
The Bareilly Development Authority used a bulldozer to demolish the fuel station at Parsakheda on the Bareilly-Delhi National Highway, an official said.
BDA vice chairman Jogendra Singh said the Ansari petrol pump was built without the necessary clearance. “A notice has already been issued but no reply has been received,” he said. Less than a week ago, an FIR was lodged at the Baradari police station in Berili against the opposition MLA for his remarks against Chief Minister Adityanath.
The SP did not immediately respond to requests for comment. When contacted, the legislator said he was “very troubled” and did not want to comment.
Addressing party workers in his constituency last Friday, Ansari said his party’s strength in the UP House has increased since the recent elections and if Adityanath makes any noise now, SP guns will not emit smoke, but bullets of fire.
As a controversy erupted, the legislator felt that the comment was being taken in a very literal sense and that a news channel had edited it. What he said, Ansari told PTI, is that the opposition in Uttar Pradesh is now much stronger than before and will respond strongly to Adityanath in the assembly, like gunfire, not smoke.
Police have registered an FIR against him, district SP vice-president Sanjeev Kumar Saxena and several others, alleging that Anuj Verma, district in-charge of the Hindu Youth Force. They have been charged under the Indian Penal Code with threatening, disturbing the peace and making provocative remarks aimed at inciting riots.
During the Assembly election campaign, the SP repeatedly referred to Adityanath as the “father of bulldozers”. The BJP “bulldozer” said it would continue to be used against illegal property occupied by criminals.
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