With the Lok Sabha elections looming large, the five-day Assembly Monsoon Session in the key battleground state of Uttar Pradesh that concluded April 11 saw acrimonious debates on national issues — ranging from Manipur to the caste census, the Opposition INDIA alliance, and even the no-confidence vote in Parliament — overshadow discussion on state issues.
With Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav leading the Opposition charge against the Yogi Adityanath government, the session witnessed personal attacks and set the tone for the run-up to the general elections.
Over the five days, the Assembly passed new rules of procedures and conduct of business after 65 years and tabled a four-decade-old report on the 1980 Moradabad communal riots, one of the first instances of widespread communal violence in UP that once led to a national uproar.
The report, submitted by former Allahabad High Court judge Justice M P Saxena in 1983, exonerated the state police, the Police Arms Constabulary (PAC), the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and the BJP. It implicated the then Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) state president Shamim Ahmed and a local leader, Hamid Hussain, for inciting the riots, but exonerated common Muslims.
Proceedings on the very first day of the session were disrupted by an Opposition demand to pass a motion condemning the violence against women in Manipur, alleging that it had instilled fear among women in UP as well. Although Speaker Satish Mahana refused to accept the demand, maintaining that the Assembly should discuss state issues and not national ones, the Opposition led by the SP pressed its demand.
“Bhajpa ke mukhyamantri ke roop mein apki bahut majburiyan hain, lekin hum ek sachhe Yogi ke roop mein apse bolne ki apeksha karte hair (You may have many compulsions as a BJP Chief Minister, but we expect you to speak like a true yogi),” the SP chief told the chief minister.
Pointing out that Adityanath campaigns across India as BJP’s “star campaigner” during elections, Akhilesh sarcastically asked Adityanath to use his star status to uphold the “voice of the nation”. He said, “The leader of our House is a star campaigner. There is no state he hasn’t visited to seek votes. Today, he has a chance to become the voice of the nation.”
With the Opposition and Treasury Benches refusing to relent and the government claiming that UP is a “model state” in terms of law and order, the session was adjourned for the day amid constant sloganeering by the Opposition. Both sides also used the debate on floods and droughts in the state to fire barbs at each other.
While the SP created an uproar in the Legislative Council demanding caste census, Akhilesh did the same in the Assembly, claiming that such a survey was necessary to fulfil the demand for social equality that the BJP regularly raises. Akhilesh also raised the issue of statewide price rise, especially of tomatoes, and took a jibe at the “one-trillion-dollar economy” target of the UP government. In response, Adityanath used data to claim that UP figures far better on law and order and development parameters than the states ruled by parties in the INDIA alliance. He even mocked the Opposition party, saying that the SP was prostrating itself to join the Opposition alliance.
Adityanath used the Assembly debates to attempt to prod open a rift between the SP and its alliance partner Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), saying that more than the SP the BJP cares for the legacy of farmer leader Chaudhary Charan Singh, the father of RLD founder Ajit Singh. The CM went on to ask how the RLD tolerates speeches by Akhilesh and said while people will give their verdict in favour of the BJP in 2024, the state government would repeat its Assembly election victory in 2027.
Constantly facing allegations of “parivaarvad (nepotism)” from the BJP, Akhilesh retorted that it was in fact Adityanath who had started “parivaarvad” before him by taking over the legacy of the Gorakhpur parliamentary seat and then the Gorakhnath mutt from his guru and predecessor Yogi Avaidyanath.
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The CM, in response, used the occasion to disparage the Yadav “family feud”, constantly encouraging Akhilesh’s estranged uncle Shivpal Yadav to take a dig at the SP chief. “Chachu, sikhaiye, samjhaiye (Uncle, teach him and convince him),” Yogi kept on asking Shivpal, repeating that he understands the injustice done to him and pointing out that the senior leader was more experienced than his nephew Akhilesh.
Amid these acrimonious exchanges, the Assembly created history by replacing its 65-year-old Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business of Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly, 1958 with the Rules of 2023.
The new rules ban MLAs from carrying mobile phones inside the Assembly, which was opposed by members who pointed out that they might get important messages in the intervening period. The new rules also ensure that legislators do not carry banners, placards or firearms inside. The Assembly now will accept digital attendance to keep up with the changing times. Since paper balls have been thrown at the Governor in the past inside the Assembly, the new rules don’t allow members to tear papers inside the House.