Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav has claimed that over 300 MLAs of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are angry and upset with the Uttar Pradesh government and its chief minister, Yogi Adityanath.
Akhilesh’s statement comes two days after over 100 BJP MLAs raised a din in the state assembly when party MLA Nand Kishore Gujjar was denied permission to speak about his alleged ill-treatment by police.
Chief Minister Adityanath later met with around two dozen party lawmakers in a bid to address their concerns over alleged non-cooperation by the state police and the absence of a system in the party for hearing their grievances.
“That’s why the chief minister is meeting MLAs one-by-one,” Yadav told reporters in Sitapur where he had gone to attend the wedding of SP Rajya Sabha member Ravi Verma’s daughter.
Akhilesh took further pot shots at the government besieged by anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests in the state that have defied the prohibitory orders clamped by the administration under Section 144.
“The BJP government is as weak as section 144 of the CrPC. Since Wednesday night, the police started acting against the SP workers, yet the SP workers took to the streets in large numbers,” said Yadav.
{{/usCountry}}“The BJP government is as weak as section 144 of the CrPC. Since Wednesday night, the police started acting against the SP workers, yet the SP workers took to the streets in large numbers,” said Yadav.
{{/usCountry}}He lauded his party workers for welcoming him in large numbers in Sitapur in violation of section 144.
“I am very happy that our workers came out to protest despite the police action. SP workers have raised their voice against those who are killing democracy,” Akhilesh said.
Akhilesh claimed that the police and the people of the state were also upset with the Adityanath government.
“And we want Yogi should continue as the chief minister,” Yadav said sarcastically.
The BJP swept to power in Uttar Pradesh winning 312 seats in the 404-member UP assembly in 2017.