Congress slams inclusion of riots accused MP Sanjeev Balyan in Council of Ministers

NEW DELHI: Congress today took potshots over the inclusion of riots accused Muzaffarnagar MP Sanjeev Balyan in the Union Council of Ministers headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"Why media is surprised by the inclusion of Muzaffarnagar riot accused in the ministry? After all it is Modi Sarkar," party general secretary Shakeel Ahmed tweeted.

A practising veterinary doctor, Balyan, who took oath as a Minister of State yesterday, had joined BJP only one-and-a-half-years ago.

A Jat and a native of Kutba village in Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh, he was jailed for about one month during the pre-emptive action taken before the Muzaffarnagar riots broke out.

Balyan, elected from Muzaffarnagar, is among two party MPs from Western UP who have been given representation in Modi's ministerial council. Ghazibad MP and former Army chief V K Singh is the other MP from the region.

Balyan was part of a mahapanchayat held last year despite prohibitory orders that allegedly inflamed tensions. He was charged by the police with violation of prohibitory orders and promoting enmity between two communities.

BJP has maintained that Baliyan was framed in a politically motivated case.

The Muzaffarnagar riots had claimed more than 60 lives.