Police on Friday arrested two BJP corporators for allegedly assaulting a colleague from the AIMIM in Meerut. The development came hours after a clash erupted between the newly-elected BJP and AIMIM corporators of the Meerut municipal corporation during the oath-taking ceremony.
BJP corporators Rajeev Gupta and Uttam Saini, along with party worker Kavita Rahi and 15-20 unnamed persons, were booked under sections 147 (rioting), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 352 (assault) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code after one Dilshad Saifi, the husband of an AIMIM corporator, lodged a police complaint.
Gupta and Saini have been arrested, said circle officer Arvind Chaurasia.
In his complaint, Saifi accused Gupta and Saini of assaulting him for pointing out that they were singing the national song instead of the national anthem at the ceremony.
The ceremony, which was taking place at an auditorium of Chaudhary Charan Singh University, was disrupted when AIMIM corporators didn’t stand up for Vande Mataram, some BJP leaders had alleged.
Refuting the allegations, AIMIM city president Imran Ansari accused the BJP of planning to give the ceremony a communal twist. “They (the BJP) wanted to give it a Hindu-Muslim twist in line with their communal and divisive politics,” he said.
Ansari claimed that AIMIM corporators had stood up when Vande Mataram was sung the first time, but it was sung again when a few BJP leaders arrived late to the ceremony. Ansari said they objected to it after which BJP supporters manhandled the husband of an AIMIM corporator.
BJP West UP spokesperson Gajendra Sharma said AIMIM corporators and supporters insulted Vande Mataram and refused to stand up when it was being sung.
He, however, admitted that the national song was sung twice as it was sung incorrectly the first time.
As a result of the chaos, a few AIMIM corporators could not take oath and they would be administered oath later.
Meerut Nagar Nigam has 90 wards, out of which the BJP has won 42, the Samajwadi Party 13 and the AIMIM 11 wards. Harikant Ahluwalia of the BJP is the new mayor.