BJP falls from moral high ground as photos of party bigwigs with Kaif, other criminal shock Bihar
Patna,(BiharTimes): The leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party are scampering for cover after the photo of the same Mohammad Kaif appeared with Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.
Not only that photos of Iqbal Shaikh, another wanted criminal and suspect in the recent killing of Akash De, son of Patna-based photo-journalist, appeared with none else, but another Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Sushil Kumar Modi and Nand Kishore Yadav.
Now it is being said that Iqbal is actually associated with the state Yuva Morcha of the BJP, though defensive Sushil Kumar Modi said that he had not yet cross-checked this fact.
Incidentally, all these photos were posted by deputy chief minister Tejaswi Prasad Yadav on the social media on Friday.
“The nation wants to know why central ministers are patronizing sharp-shooters,” Tejaswi tweeted.
Several newspapers of Patna published the photos of all these bigwigs with the accused in Rajdeo Ranjan and Akash De murder cases.
Akash, the son of a photo journalist, Indrajit De, was shot at by criminals a few day ago in Patna. He succumbed to injuries on Wednesday. Mohmaad Belal has been arrested in this case, while according to SSP, Manu Maharaj, Iqbal is a suspect in this case.
However, Sushil Modi has his own logic. He argued that the photos of his party leaders, including he himself, in the company of criminals did not in any way, reflect that the BJP was protecting the history-sheeter.
“If he is a suspect and criminal the police are free to arrest him. The pictures should not be construed as protection by party leaders to criminals,” he said.
While the two Union ministers and Nand Kishore are silent, the former deputy chief minister is putting up a brave front.
It was he who came down heavily when Kaif’s photo with Shahabuddin and later health minister Tej Prasad had appeared in the media.
Now that Tejaswi had turned the table on the BJP leaders the average people are asking as to in which capacity the saffron party was patronizing these criminals.
“If criminals are seen with some ruling party leaders in the state it is––though wrong––understandable. But why are the BJP leaders, who are not in power in Bihar, getting photographed with such elements,” asked an analyst.
Besides, the stature of Ravi Shankar, Sushil Modi, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Nand Kishore Yadav is much different from Shahabuddin and Tej Pratap, he added.
Political observers are of the view that the appearance of photographs have cancelled out the initial goodwill generated by the BJP leaders in Bihar.
