AS THE BJP faces Opposition protests inside and outside Parliament over irregularities in government recruitment exams, the party finds itself in a spot in Uttar Pradesh. Videos have emerged of an MLA belonging to its ally, the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), boasting of his ability to “facilitate recruitment” to government posts in exchange for money.
A Jaunpur native, Bedi Ram is a first-time MLA, having won from the Jakhania Assembly seat in Ghazipur in the 2022 polls. In his poll affidavit, the former railway ticket collector and TTE (travelling ticket examiner) declared nine cases against him, seven of them related to paper leaks, one going back to 2006. He has been arrested at least twice over the charges.
Superintendent of Police, Ghazipur, Omvir Singh, said an inquiry has been ordered to verify the veracity of the videos circulating on social media, including when they were filmed and where.
In the video clips, Bedi Ram, purportedly, is heard saying that he arranges “40 recruitments at a time”. In one video, the 63-year-old MLA appears to be solving a money dispute between two groups after the cancellation of an exam. He can purportedly be heard saying that he takes money to help a candidate clear an exam, and that he bears no responsibility if a paper is cancelled. His involvement ends once the results are out and the work done, Bedi Ram apparently says.
On Thursday, a video emerged on social media purportedly of Rajbhar praising Bedi Ram’s “talent” in ensuring recruitment. “Kisi vibhag mein naukri chahiye… kisi bhi vibhag mein, apkey bhai ko, parivar mein, bachey ko, bachchi ko, naukri chahiye, toh form bharney ke baad, call letter aa jaye… nishchit hai. Jugaad toh banaa hi denge. Dekhne mein aise lag rahe hain, inke kam se kam kai lakh chela log naukri kar rahe hain, aur sabko naukri inhone diya hai. Toh aap log bhi mehnat kar rahe ho, toh aap batao aapko bhi naukri chahiye ya nahin chahiye? Padhai-likhai apney bachchon ko chaap kar karayen, naukri dene waley aur dilane wale ab hum pakadna shuru kiye hain. Bedi Ram ji mahir hain naukri dilaane mein, aap lene key liye taiyaari karo, koi dikkat nahin hai (If you need a job in any department, for any family member, brother, son, daughter, after filling out the form, a call letter is certain… It can all be arranged. Don’t go by his looks, several lakh disciples of Bedi Ram are in service and he has ensured them all jobs. You are also working hard, do you want a job or not ?Give your children a good education, I have got hold of those who give jobs and those looking for jobs. So you start preparing, there is no issue).
The Samajwadi Party and Congress have demanded action against Bedi Ram and accused Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath of supporting him. On Thursday, SBSP chief OP Rajbhar, who is a minister in the Adityanath government, met the CM in Lucknow.
Both Rajbhar and Bedi Ram could not be contacted for comment.
Apart from cases in UP, including under the Gangsters Act, Bedi Ram faces charges in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Police sources said the MLA’s involvement is suspected in railway recruitments, Madhya Pradesh Public Service Commission (MPPSC) exams, and UP Police recruitments. The cases in Rajasthan are of 2009, and in Madhya Pradesh of 2014.
The first two cases against him relate to leaks of railway exam papers. Bedi Ram was jailed once in 2006 and then in 2014 over allegations involving railway exams.
In a post on X, SP president and Kannauj MP Akhilesh Yadav, who is part of the Opposition’s protests in Parliament over the NEET issue, called the alleged actions of Bedi Ram “shameful” and demanded immediate arrest. What more proof was needed that leaders under the “parashray (patronage)” of the BJP are playing with the future of children, Akhilesh said in Hindi.
The Congress said on X that the MLA belonging to an ally party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the “sargana (leader)” of the NEET paper leak. “Bedi Ram BJP ka chaheta aur unka behad kareebi hai… Sawal hai — Bedi Ram paper leak karwata hai, yeh sabko pata hai, iskey baad bhi isey NDA mein kyon rakha gaya hai (Bedi Ram is very close to the BJP… The question is that it is well-known that he organizes paper leaks… then why is he still in the NDA)?” the Congress posted, adding that Bedi Ram would drop names of Modi and Yogi and boast that he could not be “touched”. “Saaf hai: Paper leak jahan, BJP ka connection vahan (It is clear: Where there is paper leak, there is a BJP link).”
The controversy over his MLA comes as another blow for Rajbhar, whose SBSP failed to win the sole seat it contested in the recent Lok Sabha polls and is facing questions over its failure to mobilize its Rajbhar community base in favor of the NDA. Rajbhar’s son Arvind was the party’s only Lok Sabha poll candidate.
Incidentally, the SBSP had contested the 2022 Assembly elections, in which Bedi Ram won, in alliance with the SP. It won six seats in the polls.