Alarm bells for Khattar govt as 16 BJP MLAs cry neglect, hold meet

LATER, SULKING LEGISLATORS CALL ON CM WHO TRIES TO PACIFY THEM

CHANDIGARH: Upset over ‘neglect’ by their own government, 16 legislators of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Haryana held a meeting on Thursday, setting alarm bells ringing in the party.

Haryana has 47 BJP MLAs in 90-member House. The MLAs, who are dismayed over the “stepmotherly treatment” by the ML Khattar-led government, met in Chandigarh after the day’s proceedings in the assembly got over to formulate a joint strategy.

Mullana MLA Santosh Sarwan, who was present in the meeting, told Hindustan Times that the legislators are miffed over being sidelined. “There are two sets of MLAs. One who have a say and who keep throwing their weight around, trying to show their superiority, and the other who are being meted a step-motherly treatment. When we work for the government with complete dedication, it should not ignore us,” she said.

The party MLAs, who attended the meeting, included Umesh Aggarwal, Randhir Kapriwas, Naresh Kaushik, Bikram Thekedar, Bimla Chaudhary, Sukhvinder and Ghanshyam Saraf.

After the dissatisfied groups met at the flat of one of the legislators, Khattar called them to his official residence for a meeting.

Of the 16 MLAs, 14 met the chief minister at 6 pm and conveyed to him their reasons for feeling neglected. “We told him why this feeling. There is a gap between the government and us. The CM gave us a patient hearing,” another legislator said. “We have no issues with the CM, but those who hang around him,” Sarwan said, calling the meeting “positive”. The MLAs were with Khattar for nearly 90 minutes. The two MLAs, who did not show up, also spoke to him over phone.

While the murmurs of discontent among a section of the party members are not good for the state government, the first signs had emerged more than a month ago when Umesh Aggarwal, party MLA from Gurugram, opened a front against the state government through a barrage of charges. However, parliamentary affairs minister Ram Bilas Sharma denied any grouping in the party. “There are no groups. Things are okay,” he told reporters.