India / BJP MLAs sit on dharna inside UP Assembly against their own govt

Lucknow, BJP was left red-faced in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly after many of its lawmakers joined the protest by one of the ruling party MLAs over denial of permission to him to speak in the house about his alleged mistreatment by the police.

As soon as the house assembled in the morning, BJP MLA from Loni in Ghaziabad Nand Kishore Gurjar rose to speak about what he alleged humiliation by the Ghaziabad police a few days back.

Gurjar, however, was not allowed to speak by the speaker. The Opposition MLAs, who were protesting against the CAA, also supported Gurjar. 

Dozens of BJP lawmakers also rose in support of Gurjar and joined him in staging a dharna inside the house, along with the Opposition legislators. They said that they were being ignored by their own government. 

All efforts by senior ministers, including the deputy chief minister Dinesh Sharma, to persuade the MLA to call off his dharna proved futile and the house had to be adjourned.

Gurjar relented only after the speaker assured him of taking up the issue raised by him on Wednesday and also summon the concerned officials from Ghaziabad to explain.

Leader of the Opposition Ram Govind Chaudhary said that one could imagine about the behaviour of the officials with the Opposition MLAs, when a ruling party lawmaker was meted out with such a treatment.

''In this government even the ruling party MLAs can not narrate their plight.....forget about us,'' Chaudhary said later.

Gurjar had hit the headlines after he had allegedly assaulted an official after which the party had issued him a show-cause notice. Gurjar had alleged that some senior BJP leaders were "conspiring" against him.