Opposition presses for the arrest of rape accused UP MLA

The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh came under opposition fire over the rape allegations against its MLA, Kuldeep Singh Sengar, with Congress workers protesting on the streets here demanding the arrest of the accused lawmaker while BSP chief Mayawati expressed apprehensions that the case might be put on the back burner after being handed over to the CBI.

In the state capital, Congress workers belonging to the party's women and youth wings even had a scuffle with police personnel deployed in strength to prevent them from marching to the chief minister's residence.

Congress workers raised slogans against the state government and demanded the arrest of Sengar, against whom an FIR was registered today.

BSP chief Mayawati targeted the BJP claiming that by ordering a CBI probe, instead of arresting the MLA, the issue could be "put on the back burner like the Vyapam case of Madhya Pradesh".

In a statement, Mayawati also took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah for observing a fast over the stalemate in Parliament, saying they should instead hold a "upvas (fast) of repentence" on the ghats of Varanasi against the "misdeeds" of their party MLA.

"Modi needs to apologise to the people of the state, from where he is an MP, for the rampant 'jungleraj' because of which Sengar is not being arrested," she added.