Summary:
Varanasi: Hours after the UP Police took custody of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari and left Punjab to bring him back to the state, Uttar Pradesh Congress state president Ajay Kumar Lallu wrote to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Governor Anandiben Patel, seeking to restore the security cover of Ajay Rai, former party MLA from Varanasi who had contested against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in both 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
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Varanasi: Hours after the UP Police took custody of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari and left Punjab to bring him back to the state, Uttar Pradesh Congress state president Ajay Kumar Lallu wrote to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Governor Anandiben Patel, seeking to restore the security cover of Ajay Rai, former party MLA from Varanasi who had contested against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in both 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
According to the Congress, the security has been demanded citing threat to Rai’s life as he is the prime witness in the murder case of his brother, Awadhesh Rai, in which Ansari is the accused.
The case is still going on in the MP/MLA court in Allahabad.
However, Lallu did not mention Ansari’s name in the letter.
Lallu has written that if political reasons pose a threat to the life of a political person like Rai, then his security is the responsibility of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister who is also the head of state.
Varanasi police had in February withdrawn the security of the former MLA from Pindra and Kolasla even when Rai had paid for the security, the letter added.
It may be mentioned that Rai had also written to the CM seeking his security cover in February.
Lallu alleged that while no action has been taken on his request, even the remaining security of Rai has been withdrawn now.