Lucknow, February 25 On Wednesday, the Income Tax Department conducted searches at the residences of Uma Shankar Singh, the sole MLA of the BSP in Uttar Pradesh, in Lucknow and Ballia, prompting party chief Mayawati to term the action "extremely unfortunate" given his health, while Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav questioned its timing.
Dinesh Singh, a BJP leader and minister in the Uttar Pradesh government, who is related to the BSP legislator, also objected to the action through posts on social media.
The reason for the action and its outcome were not disclosed until Wednesday evening.
Singh, 55, a three-time MLA, represents the Rasra Assembly constituency in Ballia district and was previously involved in private construction business activities.
In his posts on Facebook, X, and Instagram, Dinesh Singh said that state and national leaders, as well as authorities, including the Income Tax Department, were aware that the BSP MLA has been battling serious health issues for over two years.
"Shri Uma Shankar Singh's family is related to mine through marriage. For more than two years, he has been struggling between life and death. In the present circumstances, all his time and money are being spent not on earning but on saving his life. Almost all his businesses have come to a standstill," the minister said.
He said that the BSP MLA is currently in isolation at his residence and has been unable to attend the ongoing Assembly session. "The Assembly session is important for an MLA, but he has not been able to attend even for an hour," he said.
Alleging that even medical staff were not being allowed access during the searches, the minister said, "At this time, even a nurse or doctor is not being permitted to visit his house. If any harm comes to his life, these insensitive institutions will be responsible."
Reacting to the searches, Mayawati said on X that since joining the BSP, Singh had discharged his responsibilities with "complete honesty and commitment" and that no complaint of illegal property acquisition or wrongdoing had emerged from his constituency.
The former chief minister said that given his serious illness over the last nearly two years, if the department had any complaint, it could have questioned him after he recovered.
"We are not interfering in the functioning of the department, but the manner in which action has been taken during his extremely serious illness is highly unfortunate and against humanity," she said.
Speaking to reporters, SP chief Yadav questioned the basis for the searches.
"The issue is not that a raid has been conducted on the lone BSP MLA. The question is who directs the Income Tax Department on where to carry out raids?" he said.
In a lighter vein, referring to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's ongoing visit to Japan and Singapore, Yadav remarked, "Some people have gone to Japan. Had they not gone, perhaps this raid would not have taken place, as information often reaches the police and gets leaked."
Striking a more serious note, the SP chief said that businessmen should be supported and alleged that the action was selective.
"The issue is not that Uma Shankar Singh is the BSP's lone MLA. The issue is that no one from the BJP faces such raids. If you keep the BJP happy, there will never be a raid at your premises," he said.
He also claimed that enforcement agencies had previously conducted searches on certain traders and alleged that "BJP leaders are not loyal even to their own".