Six-time independent MLA from Uttar Pradesh Raghuraj Pratap Singh, also known as Raja Bhaiya, on Friday said he will form a new political party, PTI reported. The party, which will have “Jansatta” (people’s power) as its prefix, will oppose reservation in promotions and provisions of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The former minister said he has approached the Election Commission to register the party as Jansatta Party, Jansatta Loktantrik Party or Jansatta Dal. The outfit, which is yet to decide on contesting the Lok Sabha elections next year, will hold a rally in Lucknow on November 30, the Navbharat Times reported.
“Today, I have completed 25 years in active politics and this is my sixth term as an independent MLA,” he said. Singh, who now represents Kunda Assembly constituency, said his party will raise issues such as the “draconian provisions” of the SC/ST Act.
“Going by the fundamental principle of equality, whether it is a heinous crime like rape or murder, Dalits are being treated differently and given compensation by the government while the general public and the upper castes are left out,” Singh said. “No investigation is required under the SC/ST Act before an arrest is made. This should change.”
Singh was referring to provisions related to immediate arrests under the Act, which were diluted by the Supreme Court but later reversed by an amendment. The order – saying a public servant cannot be arrested immediately after a complaint is filed against him under the atrocities law – had prompted massive protests by mainly Dalit groups on April 2, leading to the deaths of at least 11 people.
Singh said the party will also oppose reservation in promotion on the basis of caste. “It should be on the basis of capability,” he said. “This is our clear stand.”
The MLA has served as a minister in state governments headed by the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Rajnath Singh and Kalyan Singh, and Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Yadav. After Mayawati became Uttar Pradesh chief minister in 2003, Singh was booked under stringent provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism Act. He spent time in prison but soon after his release, he was appointed a minister in the Mulayam Singh cabinet and all charges against him were dropped.
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