Brahma Dutt Dwivedi was shot dead outside his house in 1997.

LUCKNOW: “My father had saved BSP chief Mayawati when she was attacked by Samajwadi Party goons at the state guest house in Lucknow in 1995. Today, she is trying to shake hands with the same party whose legislator killed my father,” said Sunil Dutt Dwivedi.

Sunil was responding after the high court upheld the life term to the prime accused and former SP MLA Vijay Singh for killing his father and BJP leader Brahma Dutt Dwivedi.

Speaking to TOI, Sunil, BJP MLA from Farrukhabad, said BSP chief Mayawati never realized the favour she got from my father when her life was in danger.

In 1995, Mayawati was allegedly attacked by SP men when she withdrew support to the then Mulayam Singh government to join hands with the BJP. Sunil said his father, an RSS functionary trained in the art of using lathi, countered Mayawati’s alleged attackers in the guest house and forced them to flee. Later, the BSP chief referred to Dwivedi as ‘brother’ on many occasions. Dwivedi was shot dead outside his house on February 10, 1997.

The prime accused, Vijay Singh, was then a member of the Congress. Singh was arrested but was realsed on bail. He contested the 2002 assembly elections as an independent and won. Singh later joined the SP and won 2007 and and 2012 assembly elctions on SP ticket.

“The prospective coming together of SP and BSP is the biggest example of opportunism in the present political set up,” said Sunil who defeated Vijay Singh in 2017 assembly elections.

Sunil alleged that both Mayawati and Akhilesh governments went soft on Singh. “The fresh HC order has eventually brought justice to my father,” he said.

