BJP notice to MLA after ‘leaked’ letter goes viral

LUCKNOW : The ruling Bhartiya Janata Party served a showcause notice on Nand Prakash Gurjar, its lawmaker from Loni assembly segment of Ghaziabad, after his letter to chief minister Yogi Adityanath levelling serious charges against some leaders in the party went viral on social media.

In his letter, a copy of which is with HT, Gurjar has alleged that some leaders in his party took ₹60 million (₹6 crore) from a leader of an opposition party who was eyeing a BJP ticket from Loni in the 2017 UP polls.

Gurjar (40), who has a degree in mechanical engineering, is a first time BJP MLA. He has also named Ashutosh Singh, a local food security official in Loni, for misbehaving with him after he asked the official to stop issuing licences for meat shops and slaughter houses in Loni. “That’s because the ‘aircraft ordinance’ is in place in Loni constituency, which is about a kilometre from Hindon airforce base and in the past an MiG fighter plane crashed after a bird hit,” he said in the letter. Gurjar claimed that the officer got a fake case registered against him.Ashutosh Singh couldn’t be reached for his version but the BJP confirmed that the lawmaker will need to explain his conduct. “A show-cause notice has been served on him for his statements in the media. He has been asked to respond in a week’s time,” said Chandramohan, UP BJP spokesman.

However, Gurjar, who is quoted in the letter as saying that he finally got the ticket on the intervention of BJP chief Amit Shah after he told him about the conspiracy, told HT on phone that he was a victim of “local politics.” Gurjar plans to meet Adityanath on Monday in Lucknow to explain his position. Asked how a letter he wrote to Adityanath went viral on social media, the MLA said, “May be it is the lapse of my staff but I had no role in it being leaked.” In his missive, he spoke of some local leaders in the party trying to stop party leaders from campaigning for him.

The lawmaker said, “Having taken money from a leader from a rival party for a ticket in the party, these leaders after being unable to stop me from getting a ticket and winning subsequently promised him a zila panchayat chief’s post. However, as luck would have it, this time too, another loyal BJP worker got the post following which they were forced to pay back the amount in instalments. That’s why this section in the party got desperate.”

Copies of his letter were also marked to PM Modi, Shah, officiating chief JP Nadda and UP BJP chief Swatantra Dev Singh.