Opposition to take up Ansari issue on floor of House

Jupinderjit Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 28

The Opposition is all set to raise the issue of BSP MLA Mukhtar Ansari, lodged in the Ropar jail, during the Budget session beginning tomorrow. Ansari’s wife reportedly resides in a rented accommodation in the vicinity of the jail as also some of his loyalists and bodyguards.

Sources said upon his arrest in January 2019, two of his close “sewadars” were shifted to the Ropar jail after being arrested by the Government Railway Police for “minor” offences. They did not seek bail and remained with Ansari for months. Senior officials denied Ansari was being given special treatment inside the jail. “He can’t travel to UP as medical examination by different boards of doctors have declared him unfit,” explained a senior jail official. The spat between Punjab and UP has reached the Supreme Court with the latter alleging the Congress government in Punjab is protecting Ansari owing to his links with Congress bigwigs.

Ansari claims to be a relative of former Vice-President Hamid Ansari and Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari, president of the Indian National Congress during the pre-Independence period. His son, a national-level shooter, is considered close to another shooter, whose father is a prominent Congress leader.

The SAD has questioned Punjab paying Rs 50 lakh to an lawyer for contesting UP’s production application in the Supreme Court.

Ansari was brought from a UP jail in January 2019 for allegedly extorting money from CEO of Mohali realtor. Since then, the UP Police has sought his production several times but Punjab refuses to oblige. Curiously, the Punjab Police did not not submit a challan against Ansari and have sought a further date for submitting the challan at least 50 times. The spat between Punjab and Uttar Pradesh over Ansari has reached the Supreme Court.