SP members disrupt Question Hour, allege threat to Akhilesh’s life

Samajwadi Party (SP) members disrupted Question Hour in both houses of the UP legislature on Monday, alleging that party chief Akhilesh Yadav’s security was breached

Samajwadi Party (SP) members disrupted Question Hour in both houses of the UP legislature on Monday, alleging that party chief Akhilesh Yadav’s security was breached by a youth at a public meeting in Kannauj on February 15.

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In the state assembly, the SP members staged a walkout, claiming that there was a conspiracy to get Yadav killed in view of his ‘rising popularity’.

Amid accusations and counter-accusations, Question Hour in the assembly was washed out as the SP members entered the well of the house over the issue soon after the house assembled at 11am.

They said the entry of a ‘BJP worker’ and slogan shouting by him when Yadav was addressing the Kannauj meeting hinted at a serious conspiracy.

At this, parliamentary affairs minister Suresh Khanna said there was no change in Yadav’s security, who had been given Z plus cover and the state government was ready for an inquiry.

“It is chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s large heartedness that he has not made any change in Yadav’s security and 182 security persons have remained deployed with him even after he demitted the office of chief minister…,” said Khanna.

The minister said the youth had only asked Yadav about the work he did for the unemployed. Nevertheless, the government was ready for an inquiry into the issue, he added.

He also said the government had all the respect for the former chief minister and no BJP worker or leader could be a threat to anybody. Instead the SP workers were a threat to the society, Khanna said.

Those occupying constitutional offices should know what kind of issues should be raised by them, he said.

Leader of Opposition Ram Govind Chaudhary (SP) said there was a threat to the life of the SP chief and cited the intrusion at Yadav’s Kannauj meeting.

He said an inspector of local intelligence unit Bhanu Pratap Singh was also seen at the SP headquarters recently. Chaudhary demanded a proper inquiry and said call details, contacts of the youth and those who used threatening and abusive language against Yadav on the social media should be investigated.

Speaker Hriday Narayan Dikshit, who tried to persuade the members to take their seats, said the Opposition had earlier decided not to take up any adjournment motion as Chaudhary was scheduled to speak on the motion of thanks to the governor.

After an initial 30-minute adjournment, Dikshit adjourned the house till the end of question hour at 12.20pm as the SP members, who staged a sit-in, raised the issue again and shouted slogans against the law and order situation in the state.

Chaudhary questioned whether Khanna would have spoken about the CM’s security in the same manner as he spoke about threat to the life of SP chief.

He later said Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her own security personnel when she held the office of prime minister. He also cited the killings of former Prime Minister late Rajiv Gandhi and some other leaders, including a former chief minister of Punjab.

In the Vidhan Parishad (Legislative Council), chairman Ramesh Yadav directed the government to ensure the security of former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav who, he said, was a big and important leader.

As the upper house began its business with question hour at 11am, SP member and leader of Opposition Ahmad Hasan alleged that the government had downsized the security of their party chief, leading to frequent dents in his security.

When Leader of the House and deputy chief minister Sharma objected, asking as to under which rule they were raising this issue during Question Hour, the SP members rushed to the well, shouting slogans against the government, prompting the chair adjourn the house for 30 minutes.

After the Vidhan Parishad reassembled, the SP members raised the same issue again.

However, Dinesh Sharma said the government had not curtailed Akhilesh Yadav’s security at all. He said Yadav had been provided Z plus security, comprising 182 personnel, besides five other personnel for security checks.

Sharma said the Opposition raised such issues because they did not want the Question Hour to run.