UP Polls: With SP's Kairana Candidate & MLA Naheed Hassan Behind Bars, Sister Iqra Joins Battle

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Iqra Hassan, who has just returned from London after getting her master's degree, filed her nomination as an independent candidate on Friday. She has been campaigning for her brother Naheed ever since he was arrested under the Gunda Act, days before the polls.

As the BJP in Uttar Pradesh intensifies the heat on the SP’s Kairana assembly poll candidate Naheed Hassan, his sister Iqra has now jumped into the fray. Iqra Hassan filed her nomination as an independent contestant on Friday, the last day for doing so for the first round of the seven-phase elections on February 10.

“I don’t trust this government. They can go to any extent to stop my brother and my family. As a precautionary measure, I have decided to file my papers,” Iqra told CNN-News18 in an exclusive conversation.

The 28-year-old has just returned from London after getting her master’s degree. She has been campaigning for her brother Naheed ever since he was arrested under the Gunda Act, days before the polls. Iqra’s mother Tabassum Hassan, a former MP from Kairana, has also been made an accused under the Act. The Hassan family has been at the centre of the BJP’s “gundaraj” (rule of goons) narrative against the Samajwadi Party.

BJP charge

On Friday, Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Shalabh Mani Tripathi tweeted a video of Naheed Hassan, where he is heard challenging the diktat of the local police.

सपाराज में गाड़ी की छत पर घूम फ़ुल रंगबाज़ी करते थे,योगीराज में जेल की हवा खा रहे,ये हैं UP के कुख्यात गैंग्स्टर नाहिद हसन,फ़र्क़ तो बिल्कुल ही साफ़ है। pic.twitter.com/qcsG69Fomv— Shalabh Mani Tripathi (@shalabhmani) January 21, 2022

The BJP has alleged that a Hindu exodus happened from Kairana because of this “gundaraj”, a charge that Iqra Hassan rebuts. “There was and is no exodus. Hukum Singh ji (former BJP MP from Kairana) had also withdrawn this charge,” Iqra told news18. “Kath ki handi bar bar nahi chadhayi jaati (people can’t be fooled again and again),” the 28-year-old said when asked if the exodus will be an issue this election.

About Iqra Hassan

Iqra is the daughter of Munawwar and Tabassum Hassan, former legislators from Kairana, and younger sister of Kairana MLA Naheed Hassan.

She pursued graduation in history from Delhi University, and after post-graduation from the Law Faculty went to the School of Oriental and African Studies in the United Kingdom. She returned a year ago and hopes to pursue a PhD.

Iqra shot into social media prominence after protesting outside the Indian High Commission in London against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC).

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