Ruling BJP Govt In Madhya Pradesh Is Facing Revolt From Some Legislators

By L S Herdenia

BHOPAL: Ruling BJP in Madhya Pradesh is facing mini rebellion from their own legislators. In its bid to restrain such activities, the leadership has summoned some of them to Bhopal to explain their conduct.

The state BJP asked three party MLAs Pradeep Lariya, Pradeep Patel, and Brij Bihari Pateria to explain why they raise their voices against the Mohan Yadav government.

Sources in the party said that two MLAs, Pradeep Lariya and Brij Bihari Pateria, came to Bhopal on Monday and met CM Mohan Yadav and state BJP president VD Sharma in a closed-door meeting, where they were reportedly asked to refrain from making any public statements against the govt.

MLA from Devri Assembly seat in Sagar district, Brij Bihari Pateria, wrote his resignation to the speaker of the State Assembly and started a sit-in protest outside the Kesli police station after he was denied registration of an FIR. The MLA alleged that it was of no use being elected a legislator if the administration would not listen to him. He said he contacted the TI of the police station, the SP of the district, and still no one would register the FIR. A complainant went to the MLA asking for his intervention in the registration of the FIR.

On last Thursday, a man died after he was bitten by a snake in Medhki village in the Devri constituency. The family of the victim went to the hospital with the dead body and the snake. But the doctor on duty allegedly demanded Rs. 40,000 to write the cause of death as a snake bite. When the police refused to register a case against the doctor, the family approached the MLA.

In another incident, a BJP MLA from the Mauganj Assembly seat in Rewa walked into a police station and lay down on the floor doing a dandavat pranam to the TI. His agony was that the police were not acting on the open sale of liquor. He asked why, when the MP and MLAs are not supporting the illicit alcohol business, the police are not taking action.

MLA from Nariyavali Assembly Seat, Pradeep Lariya, also complained to the police about illicit liquor selling unabated in his constituency. He claimed no action was taken.

Along with Jharkhand and Maharashtra assembly polls, two Vidhan Sabha constituencies of Madhya Pradesh will also go to polls. The two constituencies are Vijaypur and Budni. While Budni has been vacated by Shivraj Singh Chauhan who was elected to Lok Sabha from Vidisha, Vijaypur was vacated by Ram Niwas Rawat who after resigning as Congress MLA joined BJP. After quitting Congress he was inducted in the BJP Ministry. Rawat was elected on Congress ticket six times. But his complaint was that he was not given importance for his seniority. So he left the Congress and joined the BJP. Now it is almost certain that he will be sponsored by the BJP. But indication is that old BJP loyalists may oppose his candidature. The BJP leadership may find it difficult to convince local party men to accept Rawat as party candidate.

Congress Spokesman said “How will Ram Niwas Rawat go to the people of the constituency that elected him as a Congress candidate six times and ask them to vote for the BJP this time? It would be embarrassing for anyone to say that I have changed my election symbol, party and ideology just to become a minister,” Nayak said.

Ram Niwas Rawat, who quit the Congress on April, 30 this year is now the minister for forests and environment in the Mohan Yadav govt. Mukesh Nayak said that the Congress candidate will be tested and tried on the loyalty scale before he is given the ticket for the Vijaypur assembly seat bypoll. “The burnt child fears the fire,” he said, recalling how the Congress’s LS candidate, Akshay Bam, quit the party and left it without a candidate in Indore constituency.

In Budhni, the Congress claims it has found a “good” candidate who can give a hard contest to the BJP. “Former Union minister Arun Yadav has been made in-charge of the constituency, and we have a good candidate there.”

When party office-bearers were asked if actor Vikram Mastal, who played Lord Hanuman in a television serial and contested the 2023 assembly election against former CM Chouhan, will be fielded again, they said it was “very unlikely”. Every successive election since the 2006 bypoll, the Congress has fielded a fresh face in Budhni. This time too, the party could field a fresh face again.

Meanwhile the Congress has launched an unique campaign. It is submitting memorandum to all the members of the State Assembly asking them to take all possible measure to save the dignity of women. Alleging that the women in Madhya Pradesh are not safe, all out efforts are needed to save them from criminals, the Congress says. (IPA Service)