The Indian Express | 1 week ago | 18-03-2023 | 11:45 am
Uttar Pradesh Secondary Education Minister Gulab Devi is no stranger to controversy or backlash. The leader, who was in the news last year for equating Prime Minister Narendra Modi with god, is back in the limelight with the arrest of a YouTuber-journalist on March 12.The journalist, Sanjay Rana, was arrested after a local BJP leader filed a complaint alleging that Rana was interfering in government work during a state minister’s programme and had assaulted him. Rana got bail after spending over a day in police custody. A day earlier, he had attended an event that Devi participated in and asked questions related to the lack of implementation of the promises the MLA had made during the elections.The Samajwadi Party (SP) and Congress have criticised Devi and accused her of “dictatorship”. Speaking to The Indian Express, Devi said, “The arrest of that individual has nothing to do with me. I have been serving the region for three decades…If I had not done work, why would people elect me repeatedly? Workers have all the right to question me on development and I pay serious note to it. It is all being taken in the wrong way.”Devi represents Sambhal district’s Chandausi constituency and is a well-known state BJP face, having worked her way up the party ranks to ministerial posts. The veteran leader is also one of the five women ministers in Yogi Adityanath’s government.She has represented Chandausi, an ST-reserved constituency, five times. Her first victory was in 1991 and she held onto the seat in 1996 and 2002. She got the seat back in 2017 and won again in 2022. Devi had a Cabinet position in Chief Minister Ram Prakash Gupta’s government (1999-2000) and also during former Union Minister Rajnath Singh’s stint as the state CM (2000-’02). She got the social welfare department’s charge in Adityanath’s first tenure.आज अपने विधानसभा क्षेत्र #चंदौसी में दिव्यांगजन सशक्तिकरण विभाग द्वारा दिव्यांगजनों को कृत्रिम अंग/सहायक निशुल्क सहायक उपकरण वितरण शिविर मे उपकरण वितरित किए।#मेरा_विधानसभा_मेरा_परिवार pic.twitter.com/8gJsBfuKWp— Gulab Devi (@gulabdeviup) March 13, 2023Her key position in the state BJP unit was on display in the run-up to the 2022 Assembly polls, when she was chosen as the party candidate despite resistance at the local level. Chandausi was also the only constituency the BJP won of the five Assembly segments that are part of the Sambhal Lok Sabha seat. The others went to the SP.The leader was in national news in October 2022, when she compared Modi to an “avatar of God” who “had extraordinary powers”. This caused a furore in the UP Assembly and the Opposition demanded her resignation. She later attempted to clarify the statement saying, “When he (Modi) wants that water reaches the houses of people, then water starts reaching. When he wants that the poor get houses, then houses start getting built. When he wants that people should get gas connection, the connections start. Toilets start getting built. This is why he is an avatar of God.”In February, she called SP leader Swami Prasad Maurya “Ravana” after his remarks on the Ramcharitranas triggered a backlash.Opposition party leaders say that Rana’s arrest has created “fear” in the general public. Congress district president Vijaya Sharma said, “The issue being raised by the journalist was genuine. Any local might have raised the same as she had promised to adopt this village before the elections. He was just questioning her on promises made. With the construction of a pucca road, the distance to the main road and highway would be reduced to mere 10 minutes from the village concerned, as compared to over half an hour at present. After this incident, people will think a hundred times before questioning politicians on their promises, which is a wrong trend in democracy.”She added: “Just the video and pictures of the way the journalist was taken by the police, with his hands tied behind like a criminal, is enough to scare others not to ask questions. Journalists here have also submitted an application demanding action against the police officers for taking such actions without any proper enquiry or investigation.”Samajwadi Party leader Azghar Ali said, “The condition of the roads can be seen by anyone here. After this incident, even the public cannot question them about it. The family of the journalist is so scared…they are not ready to speak on the issue. It has started a wrong trend. If this is the situation, how will the public question politicians before elections?”
Tagged: |