LUCKNOW: Responding to Opposition allegations linking BJP to the Ram Temple donation controversy, the party, on Tuesday, sought to distance itself from the issue in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly, stressing that “no BJP worker or leader has been named” in the Special Investigation Team (SIT) report.
The party also accused the Samajwadi Party of attempting to “spread confusion” and mislead the people over the issue.
The response came after the Samajwadi Party sought to bring the controversy into the Assembly by linking the alleged donation theft to the ruling party and demanding an urgent debate over the issue.
As soon as the House met on Tuesday, Leader of Opposition Mata Prasad Pandey demanded an immediate discussion on the alleged theft of Ram Temple donations before any other business of the House.
Speaker Satish Mahana, however, rejected the demand for an immediate discussion, saying there was no urgency warranting it.
As a result, SP MLAs trooped into the Well of the House raising slogans, seeking to turn allegations concerning the temple donations into a direct attack on the BJP government.
It was against this backdrop that Parliamentary Affairs Minister and senior BJP leader Suresh Khanna responded to the Opposition’s attempt to link the party to the alleged theft, saying that the SIT report had not named even a single BJP leader or worker as an accused in the controversy.
On the contrary, Khanna accused the Opposition of trying to create a misleading political narrative around the investigation.
“These people spread confusion,” he said.
At the same time, he sought to underline that distancing the BJP from the accused did not mean the government would shield those found responsible.
The BJP’s response, however, went a step ahead and sought to turn the Ram Temple argument back on the SP by invoking its record during the Ram Janmabhoomi movement.
“They talk about faith today, but we saw their true face in 1990. These are the same people who ordered firing on Ram devotees. They created as many hurdles as possible in the construction of the temple. And now they speak of faith,” Khanna said.
His reference was to the firing on kar sevaks in Ayodhya in 1990, when Mulayam Singh Yadav was Uttar Pradesh chief minister.
Meanwhile, in a bid to counter the Opposition amid the din, UP CM Yogi Adityanath accused the SP of indulging in “undemocratic conduct”, deliberately disrupting proceedings and disrespecting the House.
“The entire State is watching this undemocratic conduct of the Samajwadi Party. They deliberately want to disrespect the House and make a mockery of it. These people no longer have faith in democracy,” said the CM.
The CM said the government was prepared to discuss every issue raised by the Opposition. He maintained that the government was ready for a debate on all issues and wanted them to be taken forward meaningfully through the Chair.
Speaker Mahana also joined the exchange.
Pointing towards Muslim legislators participating in the protest, he said it was good that they were concerned about the temple and asked whether any of the protesting legislators had made donations towards its construction.
The government also cited the pendency of a related matter before the Supreme Court while arguing that a sub judice issue could not be discussed in the House.
SP legislators, however, remained in the Well and continued to sloganeer against the BJP and the government.
The supplementary Budget was tabled amidst the uproar over the issue. However, SP legislators continued protesting.
The confrontation intensified when Speaker Satish Mahana ordered the removal of SP MLA Sachin Yadav from the House and warned of expelling him after Yadav allegedly tried to take a photograph of the CM from the Well of the House amid the protest.