Have no faith in Yogi, will pay extortion'

Lucknow: BJP MLA Shyam Prakash, who is among those who have received extortion threats by one Ali Budesh Bhai, a Bahrain-based don, is now up in arms against his own government.

Mr Prakash, the MLA from Gopamau in Hardoi district, has said that he was making arrangements to pay the Rs 10-lakh amount demanded by the don because he had no faith in the Yogi Adityanath government.

“After we received the threat, my family is living under the shadow of fear and the police have not provided any additional security. In fact, when I called up SP Vipin Kumar, he misbehaved with me. Thousands of letters written by legislators are gathering dust in the chief minister’s office so how can I expect action on my letter for security?” he asked. The SP Hardoi, however, denied the charges and said that after the MLA received the threat and informed the police, a case has been registered and the accused was being tracked through surveillance.

Meanwhile, the MLA on Friday happily posed for photographs with scores of his supporters flashing guns.

“What to do if the police do not give me security? My people are working for my security. As soon as I collect Rs 10 lakh, I will send it to the SP so that he can hand it over to the extortionist,” the legislator said.

He added that in Uttar Pradesh, gods and goddesses and great men were being honoured, but there was no concern for legislators and their families.

The Yogi government has already asked the STF and ATS to track down those responsible for these extortion threat that have been given to over a dozen BJP MLAs in UP through WhatsApp messages and video calls.