The Uttar Pradesh assembly on Wednesday witnessed a heated exchange of words between Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav and Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya during the budget session. UP CM Yogi Adityanath had to intervene and he stated that unparliamentary words and threats should not be made part of the proceedings as it would set a wrong precedent.
The spat started when Maurya’s remarks irked Leader of Opposition Akhilesh. Maurya said during his speech in the House, that Akhilesh Yadav was “praising” the work done in Uttar Pradesh when he was the chief minister. “If his work was of any good, people would not have cleaned up the SP’s mess in the election,” Maurya, the BJP leader said.
On Akhilesh Yadav’s claims of launching various schemes during the SP regime, Maurya said, “The leader of the Opposition does not get tired of counting the achievements of his five-year tenure. Which disease do you have? If there is any disease, I would say that you get tested. I would request that the Leader of the Opposition should get proper treatment from wherever he wants. Get rid of this disease of pasting a sticker of the Samajwadi Party on every scheme. You have been out of power for five years. Now, out again for five more years. Your number will not come for the next 25 years,” he added.
Maurya, who was speaking after Akhilesh Yadav’s address, said, “Who has made the roads, the expressway, the metro? … It seems all of this has been built by selling your land in Saifai.” Saifai in Etawah district is the native place of Yadav.
Speaking in the assembly after the spat between the two leaders, the Chief Minister said, “We can agree, or disagree with each other, but we must not use unparliamentary language inside the House. The decorum of the House must be maintained at all costs.” He also appealed to the Speaker of the Assembly to expunge the statement made by Akhilesh Yadav during the argument.
Later on, Akhilesh Yadav also agreed and urged Speaker Satish Mahana to expunge any unparliamentary word used by him and said that personal comments should be avoided in the House.
Appealing Akhilesh Yadav to restrain his anger, Adityanath told him that it was not right on his part to make running commentary and issue threats when Maurya was speaking.
“A government, whether yours or ours, has the right to talk about its achievements. And the Deputy CM was absolutely right. Besides, he is Deputy Chief Minister for the second time in a row and is the senior most leader in the government. You might not agree with what he said, but you should have at least shown the patience to listen to him. You can always question the government when your turn comes,” Adityanath said.
He added, “I was watching yesterday also and was shocked to hear the kind of language some members used against the state finance minister when he stood up to speak. Every member of the house has the right to voice his or her views. Both the ruling and the Opposition parties leaders must respect each other.”
Asserting that consent and dissent are the strengths of democracy, CM Adityanath said, “We do not tell you to agree with us, nor can I say that I agree with you. Yet, I listened to you for a whole hour. I will make my points when my turn comes. We must learn to listen to each other politely and patiently.”
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