The Bharatiya Janta Party’ Uttar Pradesh unit has today distanced itself from Swami Chinmayanand. The BJP leader who was arrested by the SIT following charges of rape and physically exploitation on September 20 has been expelled from the party. “Chinmayanand isn’t a BJP member anymore,” confirmed UP BJP spokesperson Harish Chandra Srivastava.
“I am saying this as a spokesperson of the BJP. I am saying this with responsibility. He is not a BJP member and the law will take its course against him,” said Harish Shrivastava, the UP BJP spokesperson.
After the controversy erupted, no BJP leader has come forward to extend any kind of support to Swami Chinmayanand, who has been in judicial custody since the last five days.
Chinmayanand was accused of rape by a law student in Uttar Pradesh’s Shahjahanpur. She had accused him of raping her and “physically exploitation”, had alleged that the former MP recorded videos of her while she was in the bath and used them to blackmail and rape her.
Meanwhile, Swatantra Dev Singh, UP BJP chief, when asked whether the party proposed any action against Chinmayanand, said: “He was never a BJP member and hence the question does not arise.”
The statement came after the law student who was accused in an extortion case was arrested and sent to 14-day judicial custody. It is alleged that she and her friends demanded money from Swami Chinmayanand. She was arrested after the SIT probing the case confirmed that they had found sufficient evidence against the law student in the extortion case. SIT chief Naveen Arora said the student was arrested after “enough” digital and forensic evidence was found and statements of people recorded.
“We have sufficient evidence that Rs 5 crore extortion money was demanded from Chinmayanand. Those arrested said they sent messages to Chinmayanand on directions of the girl in panic as they were not getting money and were upset,” he told reporters here.
Meanwhile, after a huge controversy, Swami Chinmayanand, who was arrested on September 20 from his Mumuksha Ashram in Shahjahanpur, had admitted to almost every allegation levelled against him and had said that he was ashamed of his deeds.