I am not Gandhi, I am a mafia man: SP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh

New Delhi: "I am a mafia man. How can I be Gandhi? I have forty cases lodged against me." That is how a Samajwadi Party MP described himself on Saturday in front of mediapersons. Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh reportedly made the remark at a police station in Bahraich where he had gone to protest against alleged police inaction in crime cases.

When asked whether this was Gandhigiri, he made the above statement. Then he added, "I am addressing the grievances of my constituency from here. This is my way of saying thank you to the police officials. Every Saturday I sit here and solve the problems. I am not Gandhi. I am a don. How can I be any good? I try to do my best. This is the public. I want to be of some help to them."

The incident may come as a huge embarrassment for the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Akhilesh Yadav, who is already plagued with major foot-in-mouth cases on part of his ministers. Earlier this year, another of his party MP, Shivpal Yadav had announced a novel way of saving cows from slaughter. "Don't butcher cows. There are plenty of Nilgai, anyone can kill them. They taste good when made into kebabs," he had said.

MP Brij Bhushan reportedly made the remark at a police station where he had gone to protest against alleged police inaction.

The same minister later on went on to say that it was "okay to steal a little" from government funds if public officials worked hard. "I told Public Work Department (PWD) officials that if you work hard, you can steal a little but not behave like dacoits," he had said in Etah.

Also See

• Work hard, steal a little, but don't act like dacoits: Shivpal Yadav to bureaucrats
• Save cows, kill Nilgai, it tastes good: UP minister Shivpal Yadav

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