Amid growing clamour from opposition parties seeking the dismissal of union minister of state for home affairs, Ajay Mishra, Bharatiya Janata Party leaders on Monday said a final call on the issue will be taken by the Prime Minister’s Office based on evidence provided by the law enforcement agencies.
The minister’s son, Ashish Mishra was arrested on Saturday in connection with the violence that erupted In Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri on October 3, in which eight people including four farmers, were killed.
Three senior BJP leaders who spoke on condition of anonymity said the police has to provide evidence of Mishra’s son being involved in the incident. “There have been videos of the alleged incident (posted) on social media, but he (Ashish) cannot be seen in any of those. Let the police show evidence of his involvement, and the PM’s office will then take a call on the issue,” said a senior party functionary.
The opposition has been demanding that the union government to remove Mishra. Congress leaders led by party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra sat on a silent protest demanding the dismissal of the minister. The CPI-M has also demanded the minister’s removal. The CPI-M’s Sitaram Yechury said justice will not be served with Mishra’s continuation as minister.
In response to a question on whether the issue will affect the BJP’s performance in the upcoming state assembly elections, a second leader said, “So far there is no indication to suggest that it will affect the party’s performance. But how the issue is handled by the government can have an impact.”
{{/usCountry}}In response to a question on whether the issue will affect the BJP’s performance in the upcoming state assembly elections, a second leader said, “So far there is no indication to suggest that it will affect the party’s performance. But how the issue is handled by the government can have an impact.”
{{/usCountry}}The BJP’s core group on Uttar Pradesh met in the Capital on Monday to discuss election related issues. The meeting was attended by party president JP Nadda, union minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who is the election in-charge of the state, former union minister and state in-charge Radhamohan Singh, BJP state president Swatantrata Dev Singh, general secretary Organization BL Santhosh and state general secretary Sunil Bansal.
According to a third leader, the party will draw up a plan to focus on 100 critical constituencies of the total 403 where it will need to redouble it’s efforts. These are constituencies where the party has either not won in the previous election and where it has not been able to consolidate its position. In 2017, the BJP swept to power, winning 324 of the 403.
The party has also planned 100 public events spread over 100 days. The party will reach out to the beneficiaries of the central and state sponsored schemes and hold interaction with various social groups said the third leader. The BJP’s successful return to power in the 2019 national elections was built around a similar strategy.