SP MLA boycotts opening day, says it clashed with voting day for bypolls

LUCKNOW : Samajwadi Party (SP) MLA from Bhadohi Zahid Beg on Monday boycotted the opening day of the winter session of Uttar Pradesh legislative assembly claiming that its beginning was ill-timed as it clashed with the voting day for Mainpuri Lok Sabha and Rampur (Sadar) and Khatauli (Muzaffarnagar) assembly bypolls. Beg said it was already known that six MLAs were to vote on the day in their respective constituencies and still the session was convened on December 5.

In a letter to U.P. assembly speaker Satish Mahana, Beg said, “The session was convened from December 5 to December 8. It was already known that on December 5, Mainpuri LS and Rampur and Khatauli assembly constituencies were going to polls. The dates were fixed as per the wishes of the leader of the house. A total of six MLAs, including the leader of the opposition in Vidhan Sabha, Akhilesh Yadav, SP MLAs Shivpal Yadav and Abdullah Azam were to vote in their respective constituencies.” “The dates were fixed with the intent that leader of the opposition Akhilesh Yadav should not be able to attend the session on the opening day. This is anti-democratic. To protest this, I am boycotting the session on December 5,” he further said. Meanwhile, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav had not reached Lucknow till late on Monday evening. “Earlier, there was a plan that the national president (Akhilesh Yadav) will cast his vote in his village Saifai for the Mainpuri Lok Sabha by-polls and then will reach Lucknow and attend the session. But the way the BJP leaders, workers, and administration were engaged in malpractices, he decided to stay back in the constituency,” a senior SP leader said.