Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh in cross hairs of BJP high command

Mumbai: Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) Member of Parliament (MP) Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who has upped the ante in his opposition to Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray’s proposed visit to Ayodhya, is in for some instant karma from his own party.

After challenging the MNS leader over his proposed June 05 visit to the Lord Rama temple, Singh notched up his tirade through a supporter who has threatened any Marathi (read: Maharashtrian) from visiting the Hindu holy land on pain of being drowned in the river Sarayu.

“My first reaction was ‘If I am there on June 05, will he drown me?’,” Maharashtra BJP vice president Madhav Bhandari told First India, adding, “However, I don’t see any negative fallout of these irresponsible statements by Singh or his supporters since people in UP--even from his own party--do not take him seriously. And, in Maharashtra, there is zero relevance for his statements.”

Bhandhari continued: “Having said that, what he said about Maharashtrians is totally unacceptable, whether he has any political relevance or not. Nobody can use such language against anybody. By the same yardstick, tomorrow someone may decide to disallow UP citizens from visiting temples in Thanjavur or in Mangaluru. Such a mentality and language is not acceptable.”

Another senior BJP leader told First India that the party leadership in New Delhi as well as UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath are miffed with Singh since he first launched his tirade against Raj Thackeray. “The BJP leadership has consistently maintained that there should be no obstacles to anyone seeking blessings from Ram Lalla. The latest averment by Singh’s supporter will provoke an imminent action against Singh, likely through the revival of an old criminal case pending against the MP.”

It may be recalled that Singh, who was once a gangland boss, has boasted on live video about having killed his rival in a gunfight. He was also acquitted by a special CBI court in the infamous JJ Hospital shoot-out of 1992, for lack of evidence.

Another highly placed source told First India, “Latest intelligence available with our agencies point to the whole episode being a political gambit being orchestrated from outside India.”

Meanwhile, MNS activists have registered a complaint against Singh and his supporter at the Dadar police station ahead of Singh’s expected visit to Mumbai before June 05.