Swami Prasad Maurya Attacked: Former Uttar Pradesh minister Swami Prasad Maurya was slapped by a ‘supporter’ while travelling through Fatehpur on Wednesday. The incident took place at the Saras Crossing after the Lok Morcha chief stopped for a brief welcome ceremony. The attacker had approached Maurya with a garland before hitting him from the back. Supporters of the politician had promptly overpowered the man — thrashing him before handing him over to the police.
The incident had been attributed to Karni Sena workers — with Maurya also lashing out at the Yogi Adityanath-led government. The former Samajwadi Party lawmaker accused the group of enjoying political protection and “wreaking havoc on law and order under the patronage of the ruling regime”.
Welcome event gone wrong
Videos of the incident have since gone viral and show several supporters coming up to garland Maurya while he was travelled. The attacker had also approached the former Samajwadi Party leader in a similar fashion before slapping him from behind
“Swami Prasad Maurya was travelling to Fatehpur. There was an event to welcome him here. His supporters were present here and amidst them two persons were also present with garlands. These two men tried to misbehave with the leader. They were later arrested by the police. Further action is being taken,” Sadar Circle Officer Amit Singh told PTI.
Karni Sena link
The senior politician has since lashed out at the Karni Sena for allegedly carrying out the attack — dubbing it a lawless outfit that thrived on intimidation and disruption. He cited the slapping incident as an example of the ‘kind of patronage Karni Sena gets from those in power’.
“The goons of this organisation are wreaking havoc on law and order in the state under the patronage of the ruling regime. A few insects from Karni Sena repeatedly trample over the law, but since they belong to the same community as Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the state government remains silent against such mafia elements…f goons can carry out such attacks in the presence of police, one can only imagine what they are capable of when police are absent,” Maurya told reporters.
The former Samajwadi Party leader also announced that his Lok Morcha party would contest the 2027 elections with the slogan ‘BJP Hatao, UP Bachao (Remove BJP, Save UP)’.
(With inputs from agencies)