Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 20 lakh to the family of CRPF jawan Banshidhar Nayak, who was killed in a naxal ambush in Chhattisgarh recently. UP Congress MlA Akhilesh Pratap Singh, who met the Chief Minister to persue him to provide the compensation said, “Mr Yadav has agreed and directed the officials to release the amount immediately.” Martyr Banshidhar hailed from Tiwai village in Rudrapur assembly constituency, represented by the Congress leader in Deoria district.
Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) flayed state government for failing to check vandalisation of religious places owned by minorities. Reacting to the recent attack on a church in Agra and a protest organised by the members of Christians community across the Stateon Thursday, incharge of the Congress Media Cell, Virendra Madan said that both the Central and the State government had a secret pact to facilitate attack on religious places owned by minorities just to fuel communal tension and make political gain out of it.
“Since the Samajwadi Party came to power in the State and Bharatiya Janta Party in Centre, the two political outfits were continuously making efforts to disturb communal harmony in the State”, alleged Virendra Madan, while citing that either they facilitate move to sabotage religious places owned by minorities or many time the members of Saffron brigage directely get involved in such acts.
Madan appealed to the two parties to stop doing politics over caste and religions and ensure proper security of all religious places irrespective of which community owned it. Madan also demanded a judicial probe into the Agra incident in which some miscreants damaged a church on April 16 last.