Akhilesh-led Samajwadi Party suspends 5 workers for vandalism at PM Modi's Kanpur rally

A day after some Samajwadi Party workers allegedly created ruckus during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur, the Akhilesh Yadav-led party on Wednesday suspended them on grounds of indiscipline. Among the suspended persons are Sachin Keswani, Ankur Patel, Ankesh Yadav, Sukant Sharma and Sushil Rajput. 

In a statement released, the Akhilesh Yadav-led party said, "On the directions of national president of the Samajwadi Party, Akhilesh Yadav, Sachin Keswani, Ankur Patel, Ankesh Yadav, Sukant Sharma and Sushil Rajput were suspended yesterday, December 28, 2021, for their alleged involvement in the Kanpur incident." 

The suspension came hours after the Kanpur Police arrested the aforementioned five people. The arrest was made on the basis of the FIR registered at the Naubasta police station, which was filed taking into consideration a video that had gone viral on the internet showing Samajwadi Party workers with red caps on their heads burning the Prime Minister’s effigy on the roadside, before vandalising cars parked nearby, forcing the police to intervene.

BJP reiterates 'red cap' means 'red signal'

Thereafter, the BJP shared the video on the social media platform Twitter and pulled up Samajwadi Party workers. Saffron party's national spokesperson Sambit Patra slammed the SP for inciting violence and said, "Yesterday, just before the Prime Minister addressed the rally, a video went viral on social media. There was a BJP car in that video, some lotus (symbol of BJP) stickers were put on it and a poster of the Prime Minister was also put on the back of the car. Later, an investigation was done by police and it was found that this car was also not of BJP worker but of Ankur Patel, another leader of SP Chhatra Sabha. This car was decorated as a BJP car." 

It is pertinent to mention here that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on a visit to Kanpur to inaugurate multiple development projects in the city, including the Kanpur Metro Rail Project. 

Image: PTI, Republic World