Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Uma Bharti on Wednesday said the Uttar Pradesh Government is indulging in vote bank politics by suspending woman IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal on grounds that she ordered a demolition of an illegally constructed mosque on government land.
The Uttar Pradesh Government is speculated to file a chargesheet against the suspended officer Durga Shakti Nagpal on Wednesday on the allegation of demolition of a wall of a mosque being built illegally on government land.
"By filing a chargesheet, the government is playing the political game of vote bank because she demolished the wall of a religious place of a particular community as it was an encroachment. So the government is trying to aim at two targets with one arrow by pleasing the sand mafia and by sacrificing her to appease the people of a particular community. That is why the people of Uttar Pradesh and the entire nation should be with Durga Shakti Nagpal. I am with Durga Shakti Nagpal and I will bring Uttar Pradesh government on its knees," Uma Bharti said.
Nagpal was suspended on July 28, ostensibly for ordering the demolition of a wall as it could spark communal tension in the state
Samajwadi Party leader Narendra Bhati said that Nagpal should have investigated the matter before ordering the demolition of the wall.
"It should have been stopped but she should not have demolished the wall. It was not that a mosque was built over there. If you build a boundary wall on your plot or any other place and we say that we want to construct a temple here. Then will we demolish the wall or will we probe the matter? It was a matter of enquiry and there was no complaint from the villagers," he said.
Aaccording to orders of the Supreme Court, religious structures on government land are to be treated as encroachments and brought down.
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Politicians and social activists also slammed the suspension of Nagpal after she took action against sand mafias engaged in illegal sand mining in Greater Noida.
In recent months, Nagpal had seized nearly 300 trolleys of sand being illegally mined from the Yamuna River bed. She had also formed special flying squads to check it.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Siddharth Nath Singh said that Samajwadi Party was taking this step so that an honest and able officer like Nagpal would not be there in the province to keep a check on the illegal activities.
"Firstly, the Samjwadi Party is involved in robbery and now they are behaving shamelessly by filing a chargesheet against an honest and able officer and trying to ruin her career so that their hooligan rule and communal politics continues to prevail," he said.
Nagpal is an IAS officer of the 2009-batch and was posted in the state just six months ago.
Her crackdown on the sand mining mafia along the Yamuna and Hindon rivers in western Uttar Pradesh brought her into the limelight.
Nagpal had led the seizure of 24 dumpers engaged in illegal quarrying last week resulting in the arrest of 15 persons.
Congress Party leader Rasheed Masood said that the demolition of wall was not the main reason behind Nagpal's suspension.
"In Pratapgarh, an entire place where namaz (prayers offered by Muslims) was read was burnt and the houses of Muslims were also burnt. But no suspension took place. Here, they have suspended her for demolishing a wall just because she took action against the sand mafia. It will be better if they rectify their mistake and reinstate her," Masood said.
Nagpal met the IAS Association chief Parth Sarthi Sen Sharma on July 29 in Lucknow to discuss the issue.
The chief secretary said the government has decided to review her suspension.