‘Hindu first, MLA later’: The Haryana BJP leader who attended mahapanchayat on Nuh

Sohna MLA Sanjay Singh was the only BJP leader from the state to attend the event, where demands were raised for the removal of Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar.

BJP MLA Sanjay Singh attended a mahapanchayat organised by Hindu outfits in the state after the clashes in Nuh. (Facebook: Kanwar Sanjay Singh Sohna MLA)

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At a mahapanchayat organised by Hindutva outfits in Haryana’s Palwal on Sunday, it was decided that the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) yatra during which communal violence erupted in Nuh late last month would resume on August 28. Among those present was BJP MLA Sanjay Singh, who represents Sohna.

Singh shared the stage with state Bajrang Dal convenor Bharat Bhushan, VHP social media head Anurag Kulshrestha, former Palwal MLA Subhash Chowdhary, and former BJP district president in Nuh, Surender Arya. This move on Singh’s part was not “surprising”, say local party leaders in the Haryana unit, adding that Singh has long been vocal on “Hindu rights and religion”.

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After violence erupted on July 31, Singh told the media, “I have been elected by the people of my constituency to protect our society and for maintaining peace and harmony. If I am not able to protect them, I do not have any right to stay as the MLA. I am a Hindu first and then an MLA. It is my duty to protect my people.”

Sarpanch to MLA ticket

The 49-year-old, who hails from Ujina in Nuh distrct, is the son of former state minister Kanwar Suraj Pal Singh who was a farm leader. Singh’s family is a politically prominent one in the Mewat region.

Singh started his political journey from the grassroots, first as the sarpanch of Ujina. Before being elected MLA in 2019, he held several positions within the governmental setup. He served as the director of the Land Development Bank, a member of the Mewat Development Board and the state Khadi Gram Udyog Board. He also frequently attended conferences of farmer and cow protection organisations.

In 2019, Singh defeated the Jannayak Janata Party’s Rohtash Singh by 12,400 votes. The BJP had chosen Singh over Tejpal Tanwar, who won in 2014.

Read | Empty classrooms, hesitant parents: Days after Nuh violence, schools reopen to low attendance

Singh’s election affidavit from that year mentions 25 acres of agricultural land as his primary source of income. He declared more than Rs 6 crore as assets.

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The MLA made the news in 2022 when he alleged that a member of Neeraj Bawana’s group had issued death threats on WhatsApp and demanded a ransom of Rs 5 lakh.

This June, several businessmen and traders held a conference against Singh and accused him of “misusing his powers” and “ignoring their interests” as an MLA. Subsequently, Gurgaon MP and senior BJP leader Rao Inderjit Singh addressed the traders at a conference. Singh was not invited to the event.

The Nuh police initially denied permission for Sunday’s mahapanchayat but later gave it clearance with conditions, including no hate speech and weapons. But the event, held under heavy police deployment in Pondri village, saw some speakers challenging the administration “to stop them”, demanding lenient gun licences for “self-defence”, and calling for the removal of Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.

One of these speakers even exhorted people to buy rifles “as they shoot farther”. Outfits at the event, including the VHP, demanded that Nuh district should be abolished and cow slaughter should be banned in the area. They said the National Investigation Agency should be handed the probe into the violence.