Bhim’s army chief Chandrashekhar Azad tweeted on Sunday night to say his convoy had been attacked (file)
Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh:
Bhim’s army chief Chandrashekhar Azad, a fierce critic of the Uttar Pradesh government for the alleged gang rape and torture of a Dalit woman in Hathras last month, and her record of protecting people from marginalized communities, tweeted on the Sunday night to say that vehicles belonging to his party had been shot in the state district of Bulandshahr.
The convoy, Azad said, had come under fire while its members were campaigning for the Assembly by-elections that were scheduled for November 3. At this time it is unclear whether Azad, who was scheduled to address a rally in the district today, was riding in the convoy while being shot.
“The opposition parties have been terrified of our candidate in the Bulandshahr elections and the demonstration today worried them, so my convoy was fired in a cowardly way. This shows their desperation … they want the environment to be toxic but we will not let this happen, “Chandrashekhar Azad tweeted.
बुलन्दशहर के चुनाव में हमारे प्रत्याशी उतारने से विपक्षी पार्टीयां घबरा गई है और आज की रैली ने इनकी नींद उड़ा दी है जिसकी वजह से अभी कायरतापूर्ण तरीके से मेरे काफिले पर गोलियां चलाई गई है। यह इनकी हार की हताशा को दिखाता है ये चाहते है कि माहौल खराब हो लेकिन हम ऐसा नही होने देंगे।
– Chandra Shekhar Aazad (@BhimArmyChief) October 25, 2020
Bihar’s state elections (starting Wednesday) and next month’s UP by-elections (for seven seats, including that of Bulandshahr) mark the influential Dalit leader’s entry into electoral politics.
Azad has appointed Haji Yamin as his party’s candidate for the Bulandshahr bypoll and his Azad Samaj party will contest up to 30 seats in Bihar, under the banner of the Democratic Progressive Alliance (PDA), which will be led by the Jan Adhikar Party of Rajesh. Ranjan, aka Pappu Yadav.
Earlier this month, UP Police filed cases against Chandrashekhar Azad and hundreds of others for violating the ban on large gatherings during the Covid pandemic.
Azad was on his way to Hathras to visit the family of the 20-year-old Dalit woman whose alleged gang rape – by four men from the so-called “higher castes” – has sparked outrage across the country.
Bhim’s army chief, also known as “Raavan”, staged a massive protest after police detained him twice. The footage showed him standing in a truck and addressing a large crowd. After that protest, Mr. Azad was finally allowed to meet with the woman’s family.
Days before Azad’s show of force on the road to Hathras, he attended a protest in Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, where he demanded responses from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the resignation of UP Prime Minister Yogi Adityanath.
The Bulandshahr bypoll was necessitated by the death of current MLA, Virendra Singh Sirohi of the BJP, in March this year. Azad’s candidate will face Sirohi’s wife, Usha Sirohi (who is on a BJP ballot), Sushil Chaudhri from Congress.
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