In a shocking development in Uttar Pradesh, over 100 BJP MLAs protested against their own party in the state assembly, accusing the Yogi Adityanath government in the state of arrogance and high-handedness.
The stand-off started when BJP MLA from Loni, Nand Kishor Gurjar, was not allowed to speak in the assembly when he rose to explain his side in an assault case registered against him and to complain of harassment. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Khanna asked him to sit down instead. Gurjar then sat on a dharna inside the house against the Speaker Hriday Narayan Dikshit's decision, and was soon joined by fellow BJP MLAs.
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Opposition members, led by Leader of Opposition and Samajwadi Party leader Ram Govind Chaudhary, too joined in the protest. The MLAs also raised slogans calling for unity among the legislators. Dikshit, reportedly, said that the “insult of one MLA is equal to insulting all the MLAs”. The opposition members also said that if the MLAs of the ruling party were not allowed to speak in the assembly, how can the opposition expect to be heard.
Though the protest was called off later after Dikshit assured the protesting members that corrective action will be taken, the session was adjourned for the day.
विधानसभा कल तक स्थगित होने के बाद भी भाजपा के 100 से ज़्यादा विधायक सदन में अपनी ही सरकार में उपेक्षित होने के कारण बैठे!
— Anand Bhadauria (@BhadauriyaAnand) December 17, 2019
इस समय सदन में विपक्ष सहित 200 से ज़्यादा विधायक सरकार की तानाशाही के ख़िलाफ़
यानी सरकार अल्पमत में
समय से पहले जनता को कुकर्मियों से निजात मिलने की उम्मीद pic.twitter.com/JqguyjVvKU
Why was the assault case registered against Gurjar
Last week, Food Inspector Ashutosh Singh, who was posted in Loni, had accused Gurjar of assaulting him over a hotel licence matter after calling him to his office. Ghaziabad SP Neeraj Jadaun was responsible in registering FIRs against the MLA and his associates. Gurjar was issued a show-cause notice by state BJP president Swatantra Dev Singh.
Why the BJP was unhappy with the Loni MLA
Gurjar has been in the news recently for all the wrong reasons. His minor son was involved in an accident while driving at high speed. Gurjar was involved in an altercation with poll officers, too. Recently, his associate was arrested for violating traffic rules and misbehaving with the cops.
Gurjar has written to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath alleging that some people in the party were conspiring to kill him.
