BJP MLA Sangeet Som says if in power, BJP will slap Section 302 for cow slaughter

Cow killers in Uttar Pradesh would not be spared if the BJP comes to power after the 2017 Assembly elections, Sangeet Som said.

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Sangeet Som
Sangeet Som

Cow killers in Uttar Pradesh would not be spared if the BJP comes to power after the 2017 Assembly elections, Sangeet Som said. He promised he would urge his party to book such people as murderers.

"A strong law should be enacted against cow slaughter. Killers should be booked under section 302 of the IPC," the controversial Sardhana legislator told MAIL TODAY between two public meetings in Meerut, an hour's drive from Delhi. He is campaigning for the UP panchayat elections starting October 9, but his target is the 2017 Assembly polls.

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"I'm not sweating it out for the panchayat polls. All this is for Assembly elections in 2017. What is the job of an MLA? Ensuring power, water and good roads? An MLA's job is to also deal with those who slaughter cows, who molest your sisters and mothers. I have done precisely that. This SP government likes those who kill cows. I fought for you in Muzaffarnagar," he told a crowd at Ramraj town under Hastinapur constituency held by SP MLA Prabhu Dayal Balmiki.

ALSO READ | Dadri cops for FIR against Mahesh Sharma, Sangeet Som for violating Section 144

Accused of making inflammatory speeches ahead of the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots, an hour's drive from Meerut, Som visited Dadri on Sunday where a Muslim man was killed over rumours of beef consumption. The MLA was seen stoking religious tensions by saying Hindus were capable of giving a befitting reply.

Standing under a banyan tree, Som on Tuesday referred to himself in the third person repeatedly, and said he is 'Meerut ka sher'. He also reminded the gathering that he defeated BSP's Haji Yaqub Qureshi, a wealthy meat trader in the 2012 Assembly elections.

Som said he is called a hero as he has made even youngsters, some of whom stood on tractors and whipped out their smart phones to take his pictures, swear in his name to bring the BJP back in power in UP. "(Minister) Azam Khan is ruling UP. SP is finished. So is BSP," he said, as the crowd showered rose petals on him and fired gunshots.

ALSO READ | Dadri mob killing: BJP MLA Sangeet Som blames UP govt of one-sided probe

Amid drumbeats, sloganeering and clapping, Som who wore a red turban, Rado watch and black leather shoes, was introduced as "Yuva hriday samrat and the beloved MLA of Hindus".

On Monday, he visited Baghpat and Muzaffarnagar. On Wednesday, he would go to Moradabad. These, and some more areas in western UP, have in recent times seen communal disturbances. In the midst of all this, BJP leaders are campaigning for panchayat polls to strengthen the party's base at the village level before the crucial 2017 elections.

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Earlier, Som addressed a gathering in Ganeshpur in the same constituency. He was welcomed with the slogans 'UP ka CM kaisa ho, Sangeet Som jaisa ho; UP ki majboori hai, Sangeet Som jaruri hai; Thakur Sangeet Som sher-e-Hindustan hai, nek dil insaan hai.'

But talking to MT, he refused that he had chief ministerial ambitions and thanked the people for their love. "I get love and blessings in every district of UP." He opened his Facebook page for us to prove 2.46 lakh people 'like' him. "If I post one news clipping, a thousand make comments, all of them positive. That matters," he said.

Calling 'cow protection' his passion, the 43-year-old said: "I have four cows in my house in Kaushambi (Ghaziabad). I feed and milk them. They are sacred, like your own mother. How can somebody be allowed to slaughter a cow?"

"I said a few things in Dadri. My stand remains the same. Why would someone tolerate injustice? We would not break the law, but we would not take it lying down either. Why jail those who have no role (in the murder)? The administration must probe why such a situation arose in the first place," the MLA said, adding: "We cannot allow SP to boat in rivers of blood. UP cannot be allowed to become killing fields."

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See photos: Beef Murder: Where is India heading?

"You give the family of the man who was killed in Dadri Rs 45 lakh. And Rs 20 lakh to the family of a deputy jailer who was shot in Meerut? Will they give Rs 45 lakh to everyone who gets killed?" he asked.

There are allegations that the BJP is hand in glove with the SP to divide society for electoral gains? "Rubbish. They have booked me under the National Security Act. They have not spared my father, my family," he said.

After coming to power in March 2012, Samajwadi Party's popularity in UP has dipped with BJP and allies winning 73 out of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state in 2014. SP's challenge is to retain its Muslim support-18.5% of UP's voting population. Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party, perceived to have failed to tackle corruption, is busy regrouping.

After Narendra Modi became prime minister, BJP won many states but lost Delhi. So will Modi factor work in UP? "People made a mistake in Delhi. UP has seen that," Som said.

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Also watch: Dadri lynching: Nauseating vote bank politics?