Amu relatively unknown till Padmaavat

CHANDIGARH: The recently released controversy-ridden Padmaavat may or may not set the cash registers ringing for the production house, but it has certainly brought fringe leader and a relatively unknown Rajput leader from Haryana, Suraj Pal Amu, into public limelight.

Amu, who is also national secretary of the Karni Sena, had fuelled the anti-Padmaavat violence in Gurgaon, was put under house arrest in Gurugram on January 25 and later sent to judicial custody by the court of deputy commissioner of police (DCP), Gurugram.

Amu had announced a bounty of Rs 10 crore on the heads of filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali and actor Deepika Padukone in November 2017. He had also announced to take life long care of the family of those who carried out the beheadings.

However, Amu’s vitriolic statement turned out to be a political stunt as he withdrew the statement on November 19, 2017, after he was booked in a case of criminal intimidation at the Gurugram police station. Though he withdrew the statement, he did manage to get the recognition of a Rajput leader overnight. He started making statements related to ‘Padmaavat’ every day after that.

A lawyer-turned-activist, Amu comes from the family of farmers. After getting his law degree from Luknow, he joined the youth wing of BJP in 1993 and was soon elevated as the general secretary of party’s district unit in Gurugram. He was the party’s chief spokesperson at the time of ‘Padmaavat’ controversy.

Till the Haryana cabinet approved a complete ban on the film, Amu remained quite vocal against chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar and state government. He also enjoyed the proximity of Khattar and his senior ministers, including Anil Vij. He is also associated with Haryana Football Association and Haryana Gymnastics Association. For his political colleagues and friends, there is nothing surprising in his way of taking on the state.

“It is his style of working. He was vocal and took stand on all issues. He is the one who would work and fight for the party workers and provided platform to those whose voices went unheard,” said Anil Goel, former president of Panchkula BJP.

Despite indications by the government of putting him under house arrest, he showed no fear. “He never solicited violence. We are shocked at the government’s stance, but are hopeful that he would be a free man on January 29,” said Goel.

Some of the Haryana ministers, Amu was in touch with, call him a real fighter. “Our cabinet had supported his initiative,” a minister said. He, however, refused to comment while referring to his arrest.