Yogi calls on Shah, to meet Modi today
NEW DELHI: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath met Union home minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Thursday and is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday to present details of his government’s Covid response, vaccination drive, and development record, people aware of developments said.
Adityanath’s meeting with Shah came amid reports of dissidence in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in UP, which goes to the polls early next year. The party, which hopes to return to power in UP, was attacked by Opposition leaders and even some party lawmakers for its handling of the Covid second wave in the state.
The mounting criticism prompted BJP to send a twomember team to Lucknow and hold discussions with state legislators and the chief minister last week. The party also performed poorly in recently held rural body polls, failing to clinch majorities in PM Modi’s home seat Varanasi and capital Lucknow. The UP government, however, refuted the criticism and said the Covid situation was brought under control within a week. “Met respected Union home minister Amit Shah ji in New Delhi as a courtesy and received his guidance. Heartfelt thanks to the respected home minister for his time,” the chief minister tweeted in Hindi.
During his two-day visit in Delhi, Adityanath is also expected to meet BJP president JP Nadda and general secretary organisation BL Santhosh, who was part of the team that held discussions with party lawmakers in Lucknow. Nadda also met Modi but there were no details of the meeting. A few Union ministers were also reported to have met the PM as part of an ongoing review exercise.
BJP leaders in Delhi, however, declined to comment on the possibility of a cabinet expansion or what transpired at the meetings.