Ram Temple ‘theft’, paper leak: What Opposition will raise in UP Assembly today

All-party meet held

After an all-party meeting convened Sunday ahead of the session, Leader of the Opposition and Samajwadi Party MLA Mata Prasad Pandey said the government sought the Opposition’s “constructive support” for the proceedings. Pandey, however, said the Opposition had sought a longer session.

“The government has requested constructive support for the upcoming session. We told the government that very little time is left in the tenure of this Assembly and, therefore, the duration of the session should be increased,” Pandey said.

Listing the issues the SP plans to raise, he said: “The biggest issue is the theft of donations at the Ram Temple. Then there are issues such as shortage of power supply, unemployment among the youth, and scarcity of fertilisers.”

The Congress party, too, aims to raise the donation “theft” issue.

Congress Legislature Party leader Aradhana Mishra ‘Mona’, who also attended the all-party meeting, said her party wanted discussions on several issues concerning the public but alleged that the ruling party was “shying away” from a debate despite having a majority.

“There are issues of chanda chori (donation theft), law and order, and unemployment. We want to have a discussion on these issues, but the government is not interested and has therefore called a session of merely three days,” Mishra said.

Akhilesh trains ‘chanda chori’ guns

Earlier in the day, SP president Akhilesh Yadav indicated that his party would use the Assembly session to mount a wider attack on the BJP government, listing farmers’ distress, unemployment, paper leaks, education, and alleged corruption in expressway projects among the issues it intends to flag.

“Mehtvapurna sawal sabhi uthenge (all important questions will be raised),” Yadav said.

Among the issues likely to generate the sharpest exchanges, however, is the Opposition’s allegation of “chanda chori” at the Ram Temple. Yadav sought to link the issue directly with the BJP’s political emphasis on Ayodhya, describing it as “Ram dhan mein chori” (theft of Ram’s wealth).

“Chanda chori, Ram dhan mein chori — tab jab Mukhyamantri Ayodhya jaane ka record bana rahe the,” Yadav said, alleging that the irregularities had taken place even as the Chief Minister was making frequent visits to Ayodhya.

The SP chief also indicated that his party would raise the action against Mohammad Ali Jauhar University, alleging that the government had been targeting the institution for some time.

He said the party would also raise the condition of farmers, rising diesel and petrol prices, and demand loan waivers for farmers, alleging that the BJP’s promise of doubling farmers’ income had not been fulfilled.

Yadav also trained his guns on the government over recruitment examinations, claiming that several papers, including those linked to major examinations, had been leaked, and alleging that Uttar Pradesh had witnessed a large number of paper leaks.

He further accused the government of “destroying” the education system and cited figures on the closure of government schools and reduction in enrolment and teacher strength.

According to Yadav, Uttar Pradesh had around 1.13 lakh primary schools during the SP government, and the number has since fallen by over 26,000. He claimed the largest number of closures was in Lakhimpur Kheri, followed by Sitapur and Gorakhpur.

“The objective is clear — children belonging to the PDA sections should not be allowed to study,” Yadav alleged, invoking the SP’s formulation of ‘Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak’ (Backward, Dalit, and minorities).

He further claimed that enrolment in government schools, which stood at around one crore in 2017, had declined to around 89 lakh in 2026, while the number of teachers had fallen from around four lakh to 3.4 lakh during the same period.

With the Opposition signalling plans for coordinated attacks on the government over a list of issues, the three-day Monsoon Session is expected to see stormy exchanges between the Treasury and Opposition benches from the opening day itself.