BJP notice for anti-Maya MLA

BJP Ballia MLA Ram Iqbal Singh has been issued a showcause notice by the party8217;s Uttar Pradesh unit for leading an anti-government demo...

BJP Ballia MLA Ram Iqbal Singh has been issued a showcause notice by the party8217;s Uttar Pradesh unit for leading an anti-government demonstration, despite being a coalition partner in the Mayawati government.

Iqbal had led the agitation on August 1 to get a piece of land back to its rightful owner. The notice to Iqbal comes even as Chief Minister Mayawati assured the land would be handed over to the rightful owner.

BJP rebel Ramashish Rai expelled

LUCKNOW: The BJP on Monday expelled prominent rebel leader Ramashish Rai, a former Legislative Council member. He was expelled from the party on charges of indulging in anti-party activities, state BJP spokesman H.N. Dixit said. Rai, along with a group of seven BJP dissident legislators, had last week reportedly met Rashtriya Lok Dal leader and former Union minister Ajit Singh here in the backdrop of fresh efforts by the Opposition in the state to topple the state government. In October last year, Rai had played a prominent part in the rebellion in the party against the BJP8217;s alliance with the BSP and was the convenor of the Save BJP Front which was formed at the height of a revolt by some BJP and Independent legislators, including Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiyya, against Mayawati8217;s leadership. Rai has been expelled from the party for a period of six years, Dixit said. While many of the dissident legislators were persuaded back into the party fold with a carrot and stick policy by the BJP leadership, Rai held out in his revolt. He was also not given a renomination to the Legislative Council. 8212;PTI

8216;8216;The party has its own way to deal with indiscipline. He has been served with showcause notice as per party norms,8217;8217; state BJP chief Vinay Katiyar told The Indian Express. On his part, the MLA claimed he was fighting for the cause of a Dalit without any self-interest. 8216;8216;I was protecting rights of a Dalit in the coalition government headed by Mayawati,8217;8217; he said.

The CM8217;s assurance is another example of her backing out from an earlier stance like the Jagmohan issue. On the Ballia dispute, she had directed officials to arrest the BJP MLA if he did not stop protesting. She had even laid the foundation stone for an Ambedkar memorial here, against which the MLA had begun protests for the last several months. 8216;8216;He had shown papers to me which proved that the Dalit had no land except this in his possession. Had the legislator given these papers earlier the issue would have not been blown up? The CM had assured that she would hand over the piece of land to its owner if she was convinced that it belonged to him,8217;8217; said Lalji Tandon, the Urban Development Minister.

The legislator had moved court on the issue and got an status quo order. But the land will be handed over to the owner only after the government gives its nod especially after the court order.

The issue has highlighted the squabbles within the BJP as the party had not taken any action against Iqbal when he was staging anti-government demonstrations.

Story continues below this ad

Just when the issue appeared to have settled, the party has rekindled the controversy, said a senior BJP functionary.