Samajwadi Party (SP), the main Opposition party in Uttar Pradesh, on Friday, 23 September, boycotted the assembly session and staged a protest alleging that the government had failed to discuss the raging issues of inflation and unemployment in the House.
Led by SP chief and former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, the party legislators staged a walkout soon after the House proceedings started on the last day of the five-day monsoon session and took out a march to the party headquarters.
Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) MLAs also walked out of the assembly following their ally, Samajwadi Party.
The party “will continue its constant struggle from the assembly to the roads,” the SP later said in a tweet.
Friday's march came shortly after Yadav held a meeting with the state's Governor Anandiben Patel over the "false allegations being levelled against" SP leader Azam Khan.
The former UP CM "sought an end to the harassment of Azam Khan during the meeting," the party underlined in a statement.
Yadav also attacked the Yogi Adityanath-led government over the crime record of Uttar Pradesh.
How Will Women be Protected, Asks Yadav
"The government should make it clear how women will be protected because the statistics of the National Crime Records Bureau and Women's Commission say that Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest number of crime incidents against women,'' PTI quoted him as saying.
He also raised the issue of the fee hike at Allahabad University. Students of Allahabad University have been agitating for 800 days for the demand of student union elections but the government responded with 500 times increase in their fee as a "gift," Yadav alleged.
"Law and order have completely collapsed in the state," Yadav said, alleging that the government is not responding to the issues of people.
"The government should answer on inflation, what concrete steps have been taken to provide employment, and what measures have been taken on the law and order front," he added.
Government Reacts
Reacting to the claims, the government submitted in the House that there have been extensive reforms in every field, including education, health, and employment generation.
"But the Leader of the Opposition might definitely be having some other agenda due to which he left the House," PTI quoted Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna as saying.
The House proceedings continued in the absence of the SP and RLD members.
(With inputs from PTI. )
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