Akhilesh wins BJP team’s praise with tea ‘diplomacy’
LUCKNOW: Once bitten, twice shy. The BJP delegation probably had this saying in mind when it met chief minister Akhilesh Yadav on the Kanth (Moradabad) issue here on Friday.
As around two dozen BJP leaders, including several MLAs, entered the CM’s office on the fifth floor in the Lal Bahadur Shastri Bhawan, Yadav rose from his chair, greeted them with folded hands and asked, “Why did you people send the message, saying you would not have tea and snacks?”
As the BJP leaders smiled but fumbled for the right answer, Akhilesh, with a disarming smile, requested them to allow him to observe the basic minimum courtesy of offering them tea. Willynilly, the BJP leaders agreed to tea but no snacks, even as minister and Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Rajendra Chowdhary, who was sitting with the CM, chuckled. The delegation was led by BJP state chief Laxmikant Bajpai and comprised senior leaders like Hriday Narayan Dixit and Suresh Khanna. The delegation had decided in advance that it would not have tea and snacks during the meeting. It had sent a message to the CM office accordingly to convey the impression of being serious at their job.
“Last time, we met the CM with our MLA on a stretcher. The CM served tea and rasgullas to us. But the media tried to make a laughing stock of us for enjoying rasgullas with the CM. So, this time, we were more careful,” Bajpai explained. Certainly, the tea offered by the CM appeared to have left a sweet taste in the BJP leaders’ mouth. So, they were all praise for the respect, courtesy, and warm hospitality that the young CM showed to them.
“The CM was very courteous, polite and respectful to us during the meeting and assured us he would personally look into the demands,” said the BJP leader who was part of the delegation.
Among the demands that the delegation put before the chief minister included action against Moradabad SSP Dharmveer Singh Yadav for the alleged inhuman treatment of party workers who were protesting in Kanth where party workers were arrested after a clash with the police who were enforcing a ban on a mahapanchayat called on July 4 against the removal of a loudspeaker from a temple.
The delegation told the CM that the incident happened due to the inept handling of the situation by the administration.
It also discussed the issue of an SP leader having allegedly pressured the administration to take one-sided and stern action against BJP leaders during the Lok Sabha polls in Firozabad.
“We urged the CM to take action on the demands. He assured us to do the needful,” Bajpai told HT.