UP govt bringing communal angle in suspension of officer: BJP

Strongly backing IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal, the BJP alleged Samajwadi Party government in Uttar Pradesh is deliberately bringing in the communal angle.

New Delhi: Strongly backing IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal, the BJP on Friday alleged the Samajwadi Party government in Uttar Pradesh is deliberately bringing in the communal angle into the issue of demolition of a mosque wall and insisted she was suspended as she had targeted the sand mafia.

Terming the SDM`s suspension as "unlawful", the main opposition said the measure gives a clear message that "honesty will be punished and unlawful acts rewarded". "Religion is being brought into this issue by Samajwadi Party. The main issue here is that the sand mafia was punished by her," BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi told reporters. Lekhi maintained Durga Shakti had to face the wrath of the Akhilesh Yadav government as she had seized more than 24 dump trucks and arrested several leaders of illegal sand-mining gangs. She had also impounded 297 vehicles and collected a fine of over Rs 80 lakh. The BJP claimed the wall of the "illegal mosque" was demolished by the IAS officer after she got orders from above. "The illegal dredging by the sand mining gangs of Gautam Budh Nagar on the banks of the rivers Yamuna and Hindon had affected the entire district adversely and were causing ecological disasters like water pollution and contamination, apart from destruction of marine environment and organisms," Lekhi said. PTI