- Vinay Katiyar
Vinay Katiyar is a National General Secretary
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) politician for the state ofUttar Pradesh inIndia . He was the "de facto" founder of theBajrang Dal and its first president. He held this post when the Babri mosque was demolished onDecember 6 ,1992 . Many Bajrang Dal members took part in its demolition. It is largely through his efforts that the Dal now has strong support in the states ofGujarat andOrissa . The Dal now has roughly 13 lakh members.After handing over the presidency of the Dal to
Jaibhan Singh Pawaiya , Vinay Katiyar joined the BJP. He wasLok Sabha member fromFaizabad (Ayodhya ) in the 13th Lok Sabha from 1999-2004, and was the President of the Uttar Pradesh State Unit of the BJP from2002 toJuly 18 ,2004 .Ayodhya issue
Criminal charges have been brought against him in the Babri Masjid demolition case. At times he has taken credit for his involvement in the demolition, and claimed to be proud of it, while at other times (or even simultaneously) blaming everything on the INC government of the day. He has always supported the construction of a temple on the site, often clashing with NDA allies like the
Janata Dal (United) in Parliament.He has raised the issue again and again in
2003 by writing letters to members of Parliament, organising "jagran yatras", etc.Popularity
On
July 18 ,2004 he was asked to resign from the post of President of the Uttar Pradesh State Unit of the BJP after a poor showing in the Lok Sabha poll. Vinay Katiyar lost the election from Lakhimpur Kheri seat as well. He submitted his resignation but questioned a lack of reason behind the request, stating "Even a criminal is told the reasons for awarding him punishment". In the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha byelection in 2006, he suffered a massive defeat and could muster only 19,657 votes of the total 5,90,026 lakh valid votes [http://www.newkerala.com/news2.php?action=fullnews&id=57590] .External links
* [http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/782813.cms "BJP takes UP away from Vinay Katiyar"] -
The Times of India article dated July 19, 2004
* [http://www.navhindtimes.com/stories.php?part=news&Story_ID=07194 "Vinay Katiyar sacked as UP BJP chief"] -The Navhind Times article dated July 19, 2004
* [http://www.newkerala.com/news2.php?action=fullnews&id=57590 "All Gandhi's challengers lose deposit in Rae Bareli" NewsKerala.com ] article dated May 22, 2006
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