A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA on Friday, 1 June, blamed corruption in the Yogi Adityanath government for the party's defeat in Uttar Pradesh bypolls, while resorting to poetry.
Gopamau MLA Shyam Prakash posted a satirical poem on Facebook, recalling the string of defeats the BJP has faced.
“First it was Gorakhpur and Phulpur, and now it is Kairana and Noorpur,” the poem began.
In his poem, Prakash said the party came to power by invoking the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but it could not live up to the people's expectations.
“Modi naam se paa gaye raaj, kar naa sake janta man kaaj,” it read.
He said the poem does not target the chief minister. "All I want to convey is that the officials are not working as per the intention of the chief minister,” he told PTI.
I am of the view that government officials are still indulging in acts of corruption. Common people and BJP workers are feeling harassed. I have no complaints against the government or the Sangh. But it seems that there is no control on government officials. Corruption has increased.
"The thoughts roaming in the mind assumed the shape of poetry, and I had never expected that the poem will go viral,” he said.
“At times, a novice too delivers an out-of-the-box item," he said.
"The defeat of the party in the bypolls also signals a possible threat on the future of the MLAs. It was a sad thing for us," he said, explaining why he wrote the poem.
In the bypoll results announced on Thursday, a combined Opposition wrested Kairana parliamentary and Noorpur Assembly constituencies from the BJP.
Another BJP MLA from Ballia Surendra Singh blamed the ministers in the Yogi Adityanath government for the party's humiliation in Uttar Pradesh bypolls.
"For the losses in the bypolls, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is less responsible. But his ministers are more responsible for the defeat,” Surendra Singh told reporters, adding:
The style of working of more than 50 percent of the ministers in Adityanath government is not proper. They do not give any importance to party workers. If these ministers continue to remain in office, the party’s downfall in the state is certain.
Singh said if the grievances of the poor people are not heard at police stations, tehsil offices and block offices, they will not vote for the BJP.
He said the expected improvement had not taken place at these levels, and this could lead to the party's defeat.
"The BJP government has not been able to give a transparent government,” the MLA said.
He said he also endorsed the view of senior Janata Dal (United) leader K C Tyagi that the rising prices of petrol and diesel were responsible for the BJP's defeat in the recent bye-elections.
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