Murder accused Aman Mani Tripathi inducted, Congress leaves own leaders baffled, invites BJP attacks

The induction of former MLA Aman Mani Tripathi, who is accused of killing his wife, into the Congress on Saturday has left many in the party surprised and sparked a political slugfest, with the BJP accusing the grand old party of “shielding mafia and criminals”.

Aman’s induction is being perceived as the Congress’s bid to improve its footprint in eastern UP and also reach out to the Brahmin community.

According to a CBI chargesheet filed in 2015, Aman strangled his wife Sara Singh to death. He is currently out on bail.

The former MLA is the son of ex-Uttar Pradesh minister Amarmani Tripathi (66), who was convicted along with his wife Madhumani Tripathi (61) for the murder of poet Madhumita Shukla. The couple were sentenced to life imprisonment in 2007 but were released by the UP government in August last year.

Earlier this month, a Basti district court ordered authorities to attach the former minister’s properties after he failed to appear in a separate, 22-year-old abduction case.

Though Aman has joined the Congress, post his parents’ release, he had showered praises on UP CM Yogi Adityanath and even referred to his relationship with him “as family”. This led to speculation that Aman was looking to join the BJP.

A BJP leader admitted that the former MLA had approached them but could not be inducted due to Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary. “He tried to join the BJP but did not as the party was not inclined to field him from the Maharajganj Lok Sabha seat. Hence, he went into the Congress and INDIA fold,” the leader said.

The former MLA maintained that the UP CM was like “his guardian”. “However, our ideologies are different. We share personal relations but these are different from politics. I joined the