Lucknow: The controversy over the 128th birth anniversary of Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh who donated land for the Aligarh Muslim University has emerged again.
This time it is the invitation card for an event in memory of Raja Mahendra Pratap, a Jat king.
The invitation card issued by the Akhil Uttar Pradesh Jat Mahasabha mentions the name of Major General S.S. Ahlawat (Retd) as the chief guest while Sudhir Chaudhary, a zila panchayat chairman is mentioned as a special guest.
Sudhir Chaudhary is named as an accused in the murder of BJP leader Gyan Chandra Sharma of Tappal in Aligarh.
SSP, Aligarh, J. Ravinder Goud, said, “He is an absconder and a wanted man. If Chaudhary comes for the celebrations, then it would spell trouble for him. We will be on the watch too.”
Shashi Singh, Lok Sabha elections coordinator for BJP and a Jat, expressed his displeasure at the inclusion of Sudhir Chaudhary’s name and said, “The event is being held in the memory of Mahendra Pratap Singh and the organisation holding the event does not represent the entire Jat community.
We are hurt to see that the person, who has been accused of murder and has earlier been in jail in connection with the rape of a 12-year-old, is a ‘special guest’ in the function.”
BJP MP Satish Gautam was not allowed to speak at the function on Monday which further aggravated the situation.
The BJP leader said that the party members in Aligarh will now be celebrating the anniversary at their party office. The Jat Mahasabha also wants to keep politics at bay from the celebrations.
Bijender Singh, president, Akhil Uttar Pradesh Jat Mahasabha, meanwhile, said that, “We thought that by the time the 128th birth anniversary are held, Sudhir Chaudhary’s name would have been cleared but it has not happened.” He further said that the Jat Mahasabha did not wish to politicise the event.
