BJP MLA, MP trade barbs even as CM promises action
LUCKNOW/GORAKHPUR: A day after BJP MP Sharad Tripathi and MLA Rakesh Singh Baghel were caught on camera indulging in a shoe fight during a meeting in Sant Kabir Nagar, the two leaders continued to engage in a fierce war of words on Thursday even as CM Yogi Adityanath promised strict action against them.
The state leadership summoned both the leaders to Lucknow on Thursday after high drama followed the incident on Wednesday night causing embarrassment to the party.
The BJP MP had to be rescued by the police in the midnight after
› BJP is a disciplined party. Indiscipline will not be tolerated. In this particular case, strict action will be taken against the guilty YOGI ADITYANATH, CM
Baghel’s supporters assembled to avenge the attack.
Baghel’s supporters alleged police high-handedness and sat on a dharna that continued through the night. The demonstration was called off in the morning only after the intervention of the CM and UP BJP chief Mahendra Nath Pandey.
“Indiscipline will not be tolerated,” said Adityanath in Lucknow on Thursday.
On being asked if the incident will affect the party’s political prospects as the opposition parties were widely sharing the video of the shoe fight between the BJP lawmakers, the CM said: “BJP will win 74 seats in UP this time.”
After meeting the two leaders later in the evening, the UP BJP chief said: “I have spoken to both of them and they have accepted that they were at fault.”
Pandey, however, did not say anything on the action that the party intends to take against them.
Continuing the war of words, Sant Kabir Nagar MP Sharad Tripathi – son of former BJP state president Ramapati Ram Tripathi – alleged that Mehndawal MLA Rakesh Baghel was directly involved in illegal activities.
“All contracts, including those of sand mining and road construction, are awarded to him or his men as he resorts to pressure tactics. Why only he is getting contracts? Are other contractors dead?” Tripathi asked.
Refuting allegations, Baghel, a former member of the Hindu Yuva Vahini (HYV) and a prominent Thakur leader considered close to the CM, said: “All charges against me are baseless. You can check with the officials that I have never forced them for anything.”
When asked why the tension escalated so much, Baghel said: “The plaque was for a two-lane road worth Rs 25 crore. The plaque was not even put up as its inauguration was to be done by the CM. Tripathi did not attend the programme as he wants his name but does not want to work.”
He said the words used by the MP during the meeting showed his arrogance.
Even as the BJP engaged in damage control, BJP’s ally in UP, the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), heaped embarrassment on the party.
SBSP leader Shashi Pratap Singh said: “My party lawmaker Kailash Nath Sonker from Ajgara assembly segment was denied credit in a plaque put up for development work in his own constituency despite the fact that UP BJP chief Mahendra Nath Pandey and deputy chief minister Dinesh Sharma were present. The state BJP chief must resign over the incident.”
In a Facebook post, BJP lawmaker from Gopamau Shyam Prakash called BJP MP Sharad Tripathi a ‘goonda’ and demanded action against him.
Meanwhile, police on Thursday lodged an FIR against unknown people for indulging in violence at Sant Kabir Nagar collectorate campus following thrashing of BJP MLA Rakesh Baghel by party MP Sharad Tripathi on Wednesday.
“On the complaint of collectorate Nazir, FIR against unidentified persons has been lodged under section 427 IPC (mischief causing damage) and Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act,” SP Sant Kabir Nagar Akash Tomar said.