Lucknow, December 21: Two days after former civil servants wrote an open letter criticising the BJP-led Central and Uttar Pradesh government for failing to take action on the killing of a policeman in Bulandshahr violence, a BJP leader Sanjay Sharma brought the issue of death of 21 cows.

Expressing his opinion on the issue, where bureaucrats sought the resignation of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Anupshahr MLA said, “You're seeing deaths of only Sumit and a police officer but not the deaths of 21 cows.” The leader was reacting on the bureaucrats’ open letter. Yogi Adityanath Says UP Govt Should be 'Praised and Thanked' For Its Handling of Bulandshahr 'Conspiracy'.

Earlier on Tuesday, an open letter signed by 83 former bureaucrats surfaced in the media, which not only criticised Central and state government, but asked the Chief Minister to resign. They have asked the citizens to unite in a ‘crusade against the politics of hate and division – a politics which aims to destroy the fundamental principles on which our Republic is founded’.

Criticising the Adityanath’s government, the letter reads, “It is a measure of the rapid erosion of constitutional values that we, as a group, have felt a compelling need to speak out as many as nine times in the last eighteen months.” It adds that the inaction had sent a message to the Muslim community residing in the Bulandshahr that they would have to live in fear, accept their subordinate status and conform to the cultural diktats of the majority community.

Among the former bureaucrats who signed the open letter include – former foreign secretaries Shyam Saran and Sujatha Singh, former IAS officials and activists Aruna Roy and Harsh Mander, former Delhi Lt Governor Najeeb Jung, former Prasar Bharati CEO Jawahar Sircar and former Planning Commission secretary N C Saxena. Ex-Bureaucrats Demand Yogi Adityanath's Resignation, Say Governance 'Perverted'.

According to the FIR registered, SHO Subodh Kumar Singh and Another man – Sumit was killed in the violence, which erupted due to the rumours of cow slaughter in Siyana village of Bulandshahr on December 3. The prime accused in the case is a right-wing group Bajrang Dal leader, while rest of the 27 named in FIR mostly belong from the groups like VHP, BJP, and others.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 20, 2018 07:18 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).