A very awkward and embarrassing video went viral on Wednesday, March 6, where a BJP MP Sharad Tripathi was seen hitting BJP MLA Rakesh Singh Baghel with his shoe after both were hurling the foulest of abuses at each other.
While, the whole incident that happened inside the Collectorate office, Sant Kabir Nagar, Uttar Pradesh projects a rather horrible side of the elected representatives, the whole fiasco comes with a background story.
BJP MP VS BJP MLA
Shoe Fight – All About the Meeting
The meeting in question was a Zilla Panchayat Yojana meeting inside the Collectorate office of Sant Kabir Nagar district where members of the Panchayat, department officers, Panchayat President, Police Dy.SP along with DM, MLAs (Rakesh Singh Baghel – Mehdawal, Sriram Chauhan – Dhanghata and Jay Chaubey – Khalilabad) and MP of the district – Sharad Tripathi came together to review development projects and other works in the district.
According to Zilla Panchayat member Avdhesh, a former Gram Pradhan of Baurbyas village (Santha block) in Sant Kabir Nagar district, things got heated up when the topic of the foundation stone of the Nandaur – Santha Road became the highlight and MP Sharad Tripathi asked the Executive Engineer about the policy and system regarding the credits on the foundation stone of the ongoing four lane road.
Mr. Avdhesh who eye witnessed the BJP MP VS BJP MLA shoe fight further added,
“Now that the road is being made with 60% funds from the Central Government and 40% from the State Government, Tripathi wanted to know if there was a mention of the MLA in the line of credit why was the name of the MP missed? This is when Rakesh Singh Baghel, MLA of Mehdawal constituency interrupted Tripathi (which seems to be the beginning of the viral video) and things turned uglier as Baghel intimidated Tripathi by moving his hands towards his shoe – daring Tripathi to ask the question to his shoe.
Tripathi who couldn’t bear Baghel’s obscenity in a rage of anger started the infamous shoe strike on him, hitting him hard on his head and ears. In retaliation, Baghel slapped Tripathi as well. Unfortunately, even after the cops tried to stop the two BJP lawmakers, they continued assaulting each other until Sharad Tripathi, the MP was locked in the DM’s room.
Soon the supporters of BJP MLA Rakesh Singh Baghel started throwing stones on the windows of the DM’s room and demanded the arrest of MP Tripathi. When things got worse, a Lathi charge was ordered to disperse the angry mob supporting MLA Baghel.”
The Bitterness
Between BJP MP Sharad Tripathi and BJP MLA Rakesh Singh Baghel is not New
Sant Kabir Nagar district is named after Kabir, the great saint and poet who came to Maghar after living his whole life in Benaras mainly due to the belief that those who die in Maghar go to hell and those who die in Benaras go straight to the heaven. In June, 2018, when a huge event was organized to celebrate the 500th death anniversary of the saint in Maghar, MP Sharad Tripathi hijacked the entire event.
Both PM Narendra Modi and CM Yogi Adityanath graced the occasion with their presence. However, according to the local sources, Sharad Tripathi made sure that none of the MLA of the Sant Kabir district gets an entry on the stage. The stage was all about Modi, Yogi and Tripathi while all the three MLAs of the district had to accommodate themselves in the onlookers’ section. In addition, when Prime Minister laid the foundation stone of Sant Kabir Nagar academy, a research institute, there was neither any mention of the MLA in the line of credit nor in the speeches made in the whole event. This created a rift between the MP and the MLAs.
This rift widened further when Sharad Tripathi totally ignored all the three MLAs of the district in another major event, the laying of the foundation stone of the Khalilabad-Bahraich railway line. Not only Tripathi discounted them but didn’t even gave them the chance to welcome the Central Ministers during the event.
Going by the sources, Tripathi continued ignoring the MLAs giving them zero importance everywhere. Interestingly, he made sure his name is added in foundation stones of developmental projects going in the Mehdawal constituency which is Baghel’s constituency. Next, Rakesh Singh Baghel too started adding his name in the foundation stones of state government projects. This however infuriated Tripathi and this infamous BJP MP vs BJP MLA shoe fight was nothing but the climax of a cold war that was going on for so long now.
