Ajit Singh sticks to memorial demand, government says threats won't work (Roundup)

RLD chief Ajit Singh, who has assured he would Sep 24 vacate the government accommodation allotted to him, visited his injured party MLAs and workers in a private hospital in Ghaziabad Friday even as the district administration booked them for clashing with police Thursday.

Though Ajit Singh continued to stick to his demand for converting the bungalow occupied by him into a memorial dedicated to his father Charan Singh, union Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu said his "threats won't work".

Talking to reporters in Delhi, Naidu cited an observation of the Supreme Court that government bungalows should not be converted into memorials.

Reacting to this, Ajit Singh said: "There is a memorial in the name of Lal Bahadur Shastri. The residence in which late Babu Jagjivan Ram used to live was converted into his memorial three to six months back. A memorial also came up in the name of Kanshi Ram. So what is the logic of saying this?"

Naidu said that there is no question of "political vendetta" and Ajit Singh is a "friend".

"As far Ajit Singh is concerned, he is my friend. Ajit Singh also met me in between and demanded some more time, which was given. After the stipulated period of 80 days, one more month is given to everyone (to vacate the bungalow). After the lapse of that time frame, the government did not have any other option," he added.

Apart from naming 32 people, including three MLAs -- Sudesh Sharma from Modi Nagar, Bhagwati Prasad from Khair and Veer Pal Rathi from Chhaprauli -- police have registered a criminal case against 5,000 unidentified people under various sections of the Indian Penal Code for clashing with the police Thursday.

While visiting the hospitalised MLAs, Ajit Singh said: "It is not a matter of vacating the bungalow but the issue is of farmers' sentiments towards their leader Chaudhary Charan Singh."

Raising question over the impartiality of the government, the former union minister asked why electricity and water supply to the bungalows of Shahnawaz Hussain, Yashwant Sinha and Ananth Kumar have not been cut.

Ajit Singh said that he has assured the government he will vacate the bungalow after "shraddh" is over, but the government intent on humiliating him and the country's farmers, snapped power and water supply to his 12 Tughlak Road bungalow where former prime minister Chaudhary Charan Singh lived for quite a long time since 1978.

Ajit Singh told media that instead of talking to the farmer leaders, the Ghaziabad police opened fire at them.

He added he will talk to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav over the incident.