RAJNATH SINGH’s elevation to the post of Bharatiya Janata Party national president seems to have cast a shadow on the much publicised and ‘incomplete’ Nyay Yatra, started by him on December 14.
The yatra, flagged off by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at Varanasi on December 14, was scheduled to pass through different parts of Uttar Pradesh to highlight ‘criminalisation of politics’ under the Samajwadi Party’s rule.
Rajnath sat on an indefinite dharna from November 30 at the Varanasi district headquarters, a day after the murder of party MLA Krishnanand Rai. His demand for a CBI inquiry into Rai’s murder case was turned down by Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav.
“Since Mulayam Singh has turned down the demand for a CBI probe, I will like this dharna to convert into a Nyay Yatra to be carried out in the entire State,” Rajnath had said.
The yatra, led by him, was taken out in east UP till December 22 and Rajnath was scheduled to hold a massive rally in Lucknow and gheoro the Assembly on December 23 under the ‘Ghera dalo, dera dalo’ plan.
Surprisingly, neither was any such rally taken out nor was the Assembly gheraoed. Rajnath addressed a Press conference and left for New Delhi.
{{/usCountry}}Surprisingly, neither was any such rally taken out nor was the Assembly gheraoed. Rajnath addressed a Press conference and left for New Delhi.
{{/usCountry}}Sources close to Rajnath told HT that a top RSS functionary hinted to him en route to Lucknow that he was being elevated to the post of BJP chief.
Therefore, Rajnath was said to have wrapped up the yatra in a hurry.
At a public rally here on December 31, Mulayam Singh even expressed surprise at Rajnath skipping the much publicised gherao of the State Assembly and his failure to take the yatra to Lucknow on December 23. However, he said the yatra fizzled out due to lack of public support to Rajnath.
It was then decided that the second phase of the Nyay Yatra would be held in the western parts of UP in the first week of November. But as Rajanth took over the post of the BJP chief, the issue of criminalisation of politics and demand for a CBI inquiry into Rai’s murder case seemed to have taken a back seat.
Observers believed that Rajnath reaped the dividends of the yet to be completed Nyay Yatra by rising to the post of the BJP chief.
However, State BJP chief Keshari Nath Tripathi cited festivals, party meetings at Mumbai and Rajnath’s new responsibilities as the reasons behind the inordinate delay in resuming the yatra. “We are thinking of resuming it from January 30,” he said.