A day after conviction, Abbas Ansari disqualified from UP assembly

LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh assembly secretariat administration on Sunday terminated the membership Mau MLA Abbas Ansari, a day after he was awarded a two-year sentence in a 2022 hate speech case. Abbas, son of late mafia don Mukhtar Ansari, had been elected on a Suheldev Bahujan Samaj Party (SBSP) ticket.

Making special arrangements on Sunday, the secretariat administration opened its office especially to prepare the disqualification order citing the court order and informed the MLA who was out on interim bail about it. With the seat getting vacant, a bypoll would be conducted to elect an MLA from Mau in the coming months.

Principal secretary of the secretariat administration department, Pradeep Dubey, forwarded the letter to governor, district magistrate of Mau, chief electoral officer of UP, heads of all the government departments to take note of the disqualification.

‘Hisab-kitab’ jibe cost Abbas Ansari his seat
Taking note of the hate speech made by Ansari and having gone through the evidence presented by the prosecution, the special MP-MLA court in Mau on Saturday convicted the MLA under IPC sections 153A, 189 and 506 for promoting hatred and enmity between different groups, threatening a public servant and criminal intimidation.

As the hate speech was made ahead of the polls, section 171F of the IPC was also pressed which is registered if an individual attempts to influence the voters in an undue manner. A fine of Rs 2,000 was also imposed while Ansari's election agent, too, was booked under the said section.

He invited trouble when he threatened the local govt officials from a public meeting dais in the Paharpur area of Mau Sadr on March 3, 2022.

Addressing an election rally on March 3, 2022, Abbas, who was an SP member but was contesting on an SBSP ticket, had said: "After the formation of the SP-led govt, the officials would have to give ‘hisab-kitab' (account) of their work of the past regime before getting transferred."

Ansari had won the Mau assembly seat with a margin of close to 38,000 votes. During a surprise raid conducted in Chitrakoot jail in February 2023, Ansari was found to be enjoying special treatment post which he was transferred to Kasganj. He got interim bail from the Supreme Court in Feb this year.