Why is rape convict Ramdular Gond still MLA: Akhilesh Yadav's dig at BJP

An MP-MLA court sentenced Ramdular Gond to 25 years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed on him a fine of Rs 10 lakh after convicting him in a nine-year-old case of rape of a minor girl.

Lucknow: Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday wondered whether the reason why MLA Ramdular Gond, who was convicted of raping a girl, still has not been stripped of his designation was because he belonged to the BJP.

"BJP's Duddhi (Sonbhadra) MLA has been sentenced to 25 years' imprisonment and a fine of Rs 10 lakh in the rape case, yet till now his assembly Membership has not been cancelled. Is he being given special respect and immunity because he is a BJP MLA? The public is asking whether the bulldozer action will take place today or tomorrow?" the SP chief said in a post on X.

An MP-MLA court in Sonbhadra on Friday sentenced Ramdular Gond, BJP MLA from Duddhi assembly constituency (a seat reserved for Scheduled Tribes) to 25 years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed on him a fine of Rs 10 lakh after convicting him in a nine-year-old case of rape of a minor girl.

According to the Representation of the People Act, any public representative who has been imprisoned for two or more years will be considered ineligible for membership of the House from the date of conviction.

It says that after completion of the sentence such a person will not be eligible for membership of the House for the next six years.

Yadav, who also addressed SP workers on Saturday at the party's state headquarters in Lucknow, claimed that his party with the support of the PDA (Backward, Dalit Minority) will defeat BJP on all 80 seats of Uttar Pradesh.

"People will bring about a change in the country in the 2024 Lok Sabha election," he said.

The former UP chief minister said no one is happy with the BJP and they are all fed up with it.

"BJP has no power in front of the public. Under the BJP government, every section of the society is suffering from inflation, corruption, and unemployment. People are fed up with the BJP government and everyone has decided to give strength to the I.N.D.I.A (a group of opposition parties) and PDA and defeat the BJP," he said, according to a party statement.

Yadav accused the BJP of weakening democracy and the Constitution and warned the workers of its "conspiratorial strategy" against the backward classes, Dalits, and minorities.

"We have to be cautious of BJP's moves … (It) learned the policy of divide and rule from the British," he said.