Succumbing to immense public pressure, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday expelled Unnao rape accused and four-time Uttar Pradesh legislator Kuldeep Singh Sengar.
The move comes on a day when the Supreme Court took a serious note of the Unnao rape case and the accident of the rape survivor directing the Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to complete investigation into the case within seven days.
The court also transferred all the five cases linked to the Unnao rape and accident case from Uttar Pradesh to Delhi.
BJP MP and spokesperson GVL Narsimha Rao said that there is no place for any person in the party who is facing serious charges.
Sources quoted by IANS said that the party was forced to take action against the MLA because of growing public outrage and the tough stand taken by the SC sealed Sengar’s fate.
The party had earlier refrained from taking stern action as the legislator was seen to be close to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Party leaders said that now defending him had become untenable in wake of the growing sentiment both outside and within the party.
Amid rising pressure, the state BJP had suspended the leader.
On Sunday, the woman from Unnao, who had accused BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar of raping her in 2017, was severely injured while two of her aunts were killed after their car collided with a truck near Raebareli in Uttar Pradesh.
A “conspiracy to eliminate the family” has been alleged.
Family members of the Unnao rape victim, in a letter to the CJI on July 12 had stated that the kin of accused threatened them to settle case otherwise they would be implicated in false cases.
Meanwhile, the CBI has registered a case against suspended BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar and nine others accused in the case.
The Unnao rape case hit the headlines in 2017 after the then 16-year-old girl alleged that she was raped by BJP MLA Sengar.
Representing Bangarmau assembly constituency in Unnao, Sengar had joined the BJP in 2017. It had taken immense pressure for the BJP to ensure Sengar is arrested after he was accused of raping a woman in Unnao.
The rape victim is battling for her life after being seriously injured in the road accident on July 28 near Rae Bareli. Her lawyer is also seriously injured.
He has been in all the political parties in Uttar Pradesh starting with the Congress, then joining the Bahujan Samaj Party before having a stint with Samajwadi Party and finally landing in the BJP.