News Analysis India

Tag: BJP MLAs

  • BJP MLAs stage protest in Bengal Assembly on CAG report, allege “misappropriation” of MGNREGA funds

    Kolkata: The BJP MLAs on Tuesday tried to move an adjournment and demanded discussion on CAG report in the West Bengal assembly, which was turned downed by the Speaker Biman Bandopadhyay on Tuesday. Following the refusal, BJP MLAs staged a protest on the CAG report and alleged “misappropriation” of MGNREGA funds.

    “We were not even allowed to read our adjournment motion. We were not allowed to even discuss the CAG report in the assembly. The CAG report is not about advance adjustment as said by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee but also finds mention of multiple fraud accounts which have been discovered,” Leader of Opposition (LoP) Suvendu Adhikari told mediapersons.

    Meanwhile, West Bengal unit of BJP has decided to meet Governor CV Ananda Bose on CAG report issue on March 9 and urge him to send recommendations to CAG for filing FIR against state government on the issue.Trinamool Supremo Mamata Banerjee has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently on the CAG report issue and non-submission of utilization letter, which was raised by BJP state President Sukanta Majumdar. The BJP on January 31 cited a CAG report to allege that “mother of all scams” to the tune of about Rs 2 lakh crore had taken place in the Trinamool Congress-ruled West Bengal.

    The Speaker turned down the demand stating that the issue has no justification to discuss in the House, following which BJP MLAs protested inside the House.

    Anti-government slogans were shouted by the BJP MLAs- Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, Chief Whip Manoj Tigga and Siligurj legislator Shankar Ghosh among others. They were carrying placards and protested outside the South gate of the assembly.“CAG reports has brought out details of many fake accounts, fund diversion issues, central government guidelines violation, misappropriation of funds. It shows corruption and theft of Trinamool Congress government,” Adhikari said.State Finance Minister (MoS) Chandrima Bhattacharya said, “There is no scope of discussion on CAG in the assembly. The report is from 2003 to 2021. The central government did not receive Utilization Certificates (UC) but have released funds. How were the funds released? How come the Centre announced that Bengal was the topmost performer in MGNREGA? And now the funds have been blocked.”

    After hearing that Mamata Banerjee will pay 21lakh workers under MGNREGA, BJP has lost their minds and made all these allegations,” Bhattacharya said.

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  • Disqualification of 12 BJP MLAs in Manipur: We’ll do something, no direction required, SG tells SC

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court was assured Thursday that the Governor of Manipur will soon take a decision on the opinion given by the Election Commission (EC) regarding the disqualification of 12 BJP MLAs in the “office of profit” issue.

    The assurance by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta came before a bench headed by Justice L Nageswara Rao which asked him about the decision of the Governor.

    “An opinion was given by the Election Commission in January. According to Article 192, the Governor has to go with the decision. In the past 11 months, nothing has happened. We don’t want to pass an order but please convey your good offices so that opinion is given so that they can be challenged,” the bench also comprising Justices B R Gavai and B V Nagarathna said.

    Mehta submitted,” I assure we’ll do something and no direction will be required to be passed.”

    The top court had earlier said the Manipur Governor cannot “sit over” the opinion given by the Election Commission (EC) regarding the disqualification of 12 BJP MLAs in the “office of profit” issue.

    The observation was made after the bench was apprised that the Governor is yet to take a decision on the EC’s opinion furnished on January 13, 2021.

    The top court was hearing a plea filed by Karong MLA D D Thaisii and others seeking disqualification of 12 MLAs on the ground that they were holding the posts of Parliamentary Secretaries, which amounted to “offices of profit”.

    Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Thaisii, had contended that the Governor cannot keep the decision pending and he was entitled to know the view.

    The 12 BJP MLAs from Manipur are reportedly facing disqualification in a 2018 “office-of-profit” case for holding the position of parliamentary secretaries.

    The MLAs were found not to be in violation by the EC as they had held the posts of parliamentary secretaries in the state under an exemption granted by two laws, the reports said.

    The laws were later struck down by the high court.

    After the court declared the laws void, the Manipur Congress had approached Governor Najma Heptulla, seeking disqualification of the 12 BJP MLAs on account of holding the posts of parliamentary secretaries.

    The governor had sought the EC’s views on the matter in October last year.

    According to the report, in a letter to Heptulla in January, the EC opined that since the two laws were in force at the time the lawmakers held the posts of parliamentary secretaries, they could not be disqualified for holding any office of profit retrospectively.

  • Uttarakhand: Many incumbent BJP MLAs may not get ticket for upcoming state elections  

    DEHRADUN: After a report card of Uttarakhand MLAs was submitted to the BJP national president JP Nadda, many suspect at least a dozen of the MLAs will not be getting tickets for the upcoming state assembly elections. 

    Nadda was on two-day visit to the state conducting 8 meetings back to back and assessing the ground situation. 

    “The party leadership is checking every MLA’s work, profile and whatever she/he has done. Those who are facing anti-incumbency may not get tickets in the upcoming assembly elections in March 2022,” said a party source. 

    At present total strength of the 70 member house is 68 and two seats remain vacant. The BJP has 56 MLAs while the Indian National Congress has 10 members. Two members are independent. 

    Meanwhile, Uttarakhand unit of the BJP has hired a private agency to conduct a ‘confidential survey’ to get ground report of all 70 state assembly constituencies. 

    The results of this survey will be used in determining ticket distribution for the upcoming state assembly elections in March 2022. 

    First phase of the survey is already going on. Second phase will start on September 15 while the third phase will kick off on October 25. 

    This will help the party get ground report from all 70 state assembly constituencies and decide the ticket distribution accordingly, said a senior party leader from the state unit.

    The party has also received information about many MLAs who spend most of the time in Dehradun, Delhi and other cities instead of their constituencies which fuels anti incumbency sentiments among the people in Uttarakhand hills.  

  • Maharashtra floods: BJP legislators to donate salaries to CMRF 

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: BJP legislators in Maharashtra will donate a month’s salary to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF) for relief and rehabilitation of flood and rain-affected people in the state, party MLA Ashish Shelar said on Wednesday.

    Shelar made the announcement after holding a meeting with the party’s state unit chief Chandrakant Patil and Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis.

    “All legislators of the BJP in lower and upper houses will donate a month’s salary to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. The decision was taken in a meeting attended by state chief Chandrakant Patil and Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis,” he said.

    “It is our request to the chief minister to accept our salaries for relief and rehabilitation work. The state should also provide additional assistance to the affected people,” Shelar added.

    Heavy rains last week caused massive floods and landslides in large parts of the state, especially in the coastal Konkan and Western Maharashtra regions.

    At least 209 people have died, while 4,34,185 people have been evacuated from their homes.

  • 12 BJP MLAs moves SC challenging their suspension from Maharashtra Assembly

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Twelve BJP MLAs from Maharashtra on Thursday moved the Supreme Court challenging their one-year suspension from the state Legislative Assembly for alleged misbehaviour with the presiding officer.

    On July 5, these 12 MLAs were suspended from the Assembly for one year after the state government had accused them of “misbehaving” with presiding officer Bhaskar Jadhav in the Speaker’s chamber.

    Advocate Abhikalp Pratap Singh said he has filed the petition in the apex court on behalf of these MLAs and they have challenged the resolution passed by the Assembly to suspend these lawmakers for one year.

    The 12 suspended members are- Sanjay Kute, Ashish Shelar, Abhimanyu Pawar, Girish Mahajan, Atul Bhatkhalkar, Parag Alavani, Harish Pimpale, Yogesh Sagar, Jay Kumar Rawat, Narayan Kuche, Ram Satpute and Bunty Bhangdia.

    The motion to suspend these MLAs was moved by state Parliamentary Affairs Minister Anil Parab and passed by a voice vote.

  • Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut justifies suspension of 12 Maharashtra MLAs; BJP protests

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: A day after 12 BJP MLAs were suspended from the Maharashtra Assembly for alleged misbehaviour, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said indiscipline cannot be tolerated, even as the opposition party held protests in the Vidhan Bhavan complex here and other parts of the state over the action.

    Talking to reporters here on Tuesday, Raut said, “Never before the state Legislature witnessed such indiscipline.”

    The opening day of the state Legislature’s two-day monsoon session on Monday witnessed high drama as 12 BJP MLAs were suspended from the Assembly for one year after the state government accused them of “misbehaving” with presiding officer Bhaskar Jadhav in the Speaker’s chamber.

    Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Devendra Fadnavis had termed the allegation as false and said Jadhav’s account of the incident was “one-sided”.

    ALSO READ | 12 BJP MLAs suspended from Maharashtra Assembly for a year for ‘misbehaving’ with presiding officer

    On Tuesday, Raut said, “Indiscipline cannot be tolerated. Breaking the Speaker’s mike and using abusive language against the presiding officer is not Maharashtra’s culture.”

    Meanwhile, the BJP held protests in different parts of the state, condemning the MVA government’s action against the opposition party’s MLAs.

    Several BJP legislators squatted on the stairs of the Vidhan Bhavan building in Mumbai and shouted slogans against the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA-comprising the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress) government.

    The 12 MLAs against whom the action was taken were not seen as they are not allowed to enter the Legislature building during the suspension period.

    The 12 suspended members are- Sanjay Kute, Ashish Shelar, Abhimanyu Pawar, Girish Mahajan, Atul Bhatkhalkar, Parag Alavani, Harish Pimpale, Yogesh Sagar, Jay Kumar Rawat, Narayan Kuche, Ram Satpute and Bunty Bhangdia.

    On Monday, these 12 MLAs met Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, seeking his intervention into the matter, and complained against the MVA government for “trampling upon the democracy”.

  • Half of BJP MLAs want to be with TMC: Saugata Roy

    By Express News Service
    KOLKATA:  The Trinamool Congress claimed half of the BJP’s MLAs are in touch with its leadership and a decision on whether all of them will be inducted is yet to be taken. The party also said it was not happy with the Calcutta High Court’s recent order observing that the state government is in denial mode on the issue of post-poll violence.

    “More than half of BJP’s newly elected MLAs are in touch with our party, expressing their willingness to join. The party is yet to take a stand on this issue. It is the chief minister who will take the final decision,’’ said TMC MP and spokesperson Saugata Roy.

    Ever since her stupendous victory in the Assembly elections, TMC chief Mamata Banerjee has opened the door only for Mukul Roy. Many BJP MLAs, who had defected from the TMC, said they were not happy with the saffron camp’s political narrative.

    Former minister Rajib Banerjee, who joined the BJP ahead of the elections, said he was not happy with the party’s divisive politics. Roy also said the party was not happy with the Calcutta High Court’s observation on post-poll violence. “The observation and order was given by a bench of five judges which include acting chief justice Rajesh Bindal. We wrote to the Chief Justice of India seeking removal of Bindal.”

    ALSO READ | No bypoll? Mamata Banerjee has a workaround, says Trinamool

    Last month, TMC MLA and  Bar Council of West Bengal chairperson Ashok Kumar Deb had alleged that Bindal was biased in the hearing of some prominent cases. Condemning the HC order engaging the National Human Rights Commission to submit a report, Roy said there was no need to engage the NHRC. “Such order is suitable when there is no government. We have a stable government and the state has its own human rights commission.” 

  • Farmers in Haryana block roads, protest outside BJP MLA’s residence

    By PTI
    AMBALA: Haryana farmers on Thursday blocked traffic in Jind and Hisar while some of them protested outside a ruling party MLA’s residence, a day after a no-confidence motion focussed on the farmers’ issue was defeated in the state Assembly.

    A group of farmers held a protest in Sirsa and Jind to protest against those Haryana legislators who had not backed the no-confidence motion.

    The protesting farmers also blocked Hisar-Jind road for some time and raised slogans against the state government.

    A large number of farmers held a protest outside the Prem Nagar residence of ruling BJP’s Ambala City MLA Aseem Goel objecting to a remark made by him in the state Assembly.

    The protesters claimed Goel had made some indirect remark in the context of farmers.

    On Wednesday, Congress members had rushed to the Well of the House taking objection to the remark made by Goel while he was speaking on the no-confidence motion moved against the BJP-JJP government by the main opposition party.

    ALSO READ: BJP-JJP government defeats ‘no-confidence’ motion in Haryana Assembly

    The protesting farmers also said they will not allow BJP and JJP MLAs to enter their villages to address any public meeting because they were not putting pressure on the Centre to repeal the three farm laws.

    Goel was not at his residence when the farmers were demonstrating outside.

    In Sirsa, a group of farmers burnt an effigy of Haryana Lokhit Party chief and local MLA Gopal Kanda.

    They said Kanda had not stood with the farmers and voted against the no-confidence motion.

    The BJP-JJP government in Haryana had survived the floor test on Wednesday, comfortably defeating the no-confidence motion moved against it by the main opposition Congress.

    The motion was defeated following the division of votes.

    Fifty-five members had voted against the motion while 32 legislators had backed it.

    Meanwhile, talking to reporters in Chandigarh on Thursday, senior INLD leader Abhay Singh Chautala said had former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda resigned along with all his party MLAs instead of bringing a no-confidence motion, then, by evening the government would have collapsed.

    He claimed that a huge rebellion would have taken place against the BJP all over the country, which would have given great power to the farmers forcing the Centre to repeal the three “black agricultural laws”.

    Notably, Chautala had recently resigned as MLA over the farmers issue.

  • Denied poll tickets, two Assam BJP MLAs resign from party

    By PTI
    GUWAHATI: Two lawmakers of the ruling BJP in poll-bound Assam quit the party on Wednesday after they were denied tickets to contest in the coming state poll.

    The two – former deputy speaker Dilip Kumar Paul and controversial MLA Shiladitya Dev in separate press conferences alleged conspiracies against them in the party.

    On Sunday, BJP cabinet minister in Assam Sum Ronghang joined the opposition Congress after he was denied ticket from Diphu constituency.

    Paul announced his decision to quit the saffron camp at a press conference at Silchar and said that he has sent his resignation letter to BJP state unit president, local leaders of the party as well as its national leaders.

    “With a heavy heart, I am taking a hard decision at a very crucial juncture of my life. I am leaving BJP,” he said.

    “There are people who are running the party (BJP) and have conspired against me. The chief minister is a very good man and is ably running the state. But he is helpless,” Paul, who has been a member of BJP since 1983, said.

    ALSO READ: Congress announces list of 26 candidates for Assam polls

    Without naming anyone, the MLA from the prestigious Silchar constituency alleged that the persons involved in syndicate in Assam are running the party affairs at present.

    BJP has fielded Dipayan Chakraborty to contest from Silchar, which will go to the polls in the second phase on April 1.

    Dev, an MLA from Hojai, too alleged that a conspiracy was on within the party for four years against him.

    “I am resigning from the party. I will start my new journey from tomorrow,” he said without elaborating.

    The controversial MLA, who has put the party in embarrassing situations on a number of occasions, further said that he has been “politically murdered” only to “benefit a few people” because he spoke about Hindutva.

    Dev had announced to quit the party in July last year alleging neglect and groupism by the leaders, but later called off his decision.

    The BJP has announced the names of 74 candidates, which does not include 13 sitting MLAs of Assam Assembly.

    The saffron party has formed an alliance with the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL).

    Out of the 126 Assembly seats, the BJP has left 26 for AGP and 8 for its allies UPPL respectively.