After protest in UP assembly, BJP draws up plan to placate its lawmakers

Stung by an unprecedented protest by over 100 of its lawmakers in the UP assembly on Tuesday, the ruling BJP put in place an initiative under which party’s chief

Stung by an unprecedented protest by over 100 of its lawmakers in the UP assembly on Tuesday, the ruling BJP put in place an initiative under which party’s chief whip and whips would regularly interact with the legislators.

HT Image

The first such meeting of lawmakers with the party whips was held on Wednesday, even as chief minister Yogi Adityanath interacted with around two dozen party lawmakers at his Lok Bhawan office where he reportedly engaged in some plainspeak.

“Many of us met in batches with the whips over tea,” a party lawmaker confirmed, saying that the system of working groups, under which a minister each was made in-charge of a group of MLAs, would be revived again. During the Tuesday’s protest, the party lawmakers alleged ill treatment at the hands of officials.

Even as the party was engaged in damage control, another party lawmaker Shyam Prakash, the MLA from Gopamau in Hardoi, put out a facebook post. He said when nearly everyone from police to bureaucrats and even others had their own bodies to back them, the lawmakers too should consider floating a union.

Shyam Prakash’s facebook post was interpreted as confirmation of several lawmakers unhappiness with officials and the manner in which they were treated.

BJP chief Amit Shah had also asked for the system of working groups comprising party functionaries for better coordination between the party and the government.

“Under the system, the ministers were to meet lawmakers and party functionaries over lunch to avert the embarrassment party suffered. The system was put in place but temporarily discontinued due to elections and other developments. It will be restarted now,” a lawmaker said.

Another lawmaker, however, claimed that the working groups were there on paper only.

“At least I don’t recall having met the minister who was to head my group,” the lawmaker said, requesting anonymity.

However, after Tuesday’s development, the chief minister reportedly told the lawmakers who met him that while the party and the government were always ready to “hear and help them”, going public with anything that could bring disrepute to the government won’t be encouraged.

“He said the party and the government were always ready to ensure that the prestige and respect of the lawmakers wasn’t compromised at any level. At the same time, the lawmakers also admitted that the public protests inside the assembly could have been avoided,” a party leader privy to the development told HT.

Nand Kishore Gurjar, 40, the party’s lawmaker from Loni assembly segment in Ghaziabad, who had found support from several lawmakers, majority of them from the ruling party on Tuesday, later apologised to Adityanath, soon after chief minister returned from the Jharkhand poll campaign on Tuesday night.

On Wednesday, the lawmakers were divided on Gurjar’s decision to raise the issue of ill treatment in the UP assembly, with some suggesting that the matter could have been raised at the party forum. Those backing Gurjar, however, pointed out that he had to take the step of raising the issue inside the assembly as he had already met leaders in the party and the government.

Gurjar’s version – of being harassed by officials in Loni – was denied by Ghaziabad police which released a detailed list of cases pending against the BJP lawmaker along with the sequence of events to counter Gurjar’s claim.

The Ghaziabad police’s move made many believe that the government wasn’t happy with the lawmaker’s decision to embarrass his party.

On Wednesday, the lawmaker was allowed to speak inside the UP assembly. During his speech, he admitted Adityanath’s image was clean but claimed that corruption was rampant in the state, with lawmakers also being asked for a commission to get works under MLA’s development fund sanctioned.

The Adityanath government has acted against several officials, giving forced retirement to many on grounds of inefficiency or corruption. Despite his apology to the chief minister, Gurjar’s allegation on corruption provided the opposition an opportunity to target the government on the issue.