The Rajasthan Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has decided that it will not back protests by leaders in their individual capacity and all demonstrations must have permission of the state unit.
The decision comes after the ruckus during the BJP’s protest on Saturday against the alleged insult to widows of martyrs. The BJP’s infighting surfaced during the protest as supporters of member of Parliament Kirori Lal Meena chanted slogans against state BJP president Satish Poonia, all of which was caught on camera.
Meena’s supporters pelted stones at the police, damaged police vehicles and broke down barricades during the protest. The entire protest was live streamed on Meena’s official Facebook page.
Rajasthan BJP in-charge Arun Singh, who met Poonia and several other office bearers and took details about the protest, has given a report to the party high command in the matter, said people familiar with the matter.
The party leadership is asking leaders to fall in line as power tussles between leaders are coming out in the open in an election year. The Rajasthan BJP is divided into several camps, with leaders involved in a game of one-upmanship.
People familiar with the matter said the decision for Saturday’s dharna was not taken by the state unit but taken impromptu by some local leaders. In fact, deputy leader of opposition Rajendra Rathore, who had gone to meet Meena in hospital on Friday, had told reporters that the party would hold a protest on Saturday against the ill treatment of Meena. Later, the state unit was involved.
Party leaders say the effort is to discourage leaders from undertaking individual shows of strength and to give credence to talk of infighting in the party.
The party leadership has issued verbal orders to all the district units that permission from the state unit is mandatory before organising any protest.
The people cited above said that Singh and co-incharge Vijaya Rahatkar had a closed-door meeting on Sunday withPoonia, Chandrashekhar, Rajasthan general secretary (organisation), and a few other leaders. Singh and Rahatkar expressed displeasure at the ruckus on Saturday.
It was decided in the meeting that no leader will be allowed to hold demonstrations without the permission of the state organisation. If a leader plans a protest in his or her individual capacity, the organisation will not back them, the people added.
The cold vibes between Meena and Poonia have surfaced earlier too when the former targeted the latter over the exam paper leak issue. A couple of weeks back, Meena sat on a protest demanding a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into the exam paper leaks in Rajasthan. While several BJP leaders showed support to Meena, the organisation’s support was not visible. After calling off the protest, Meena said he was disappointed with the lukewarm response by the state BJP.
Meena had claimed he had apprised Poonia on the issue and his plan to stage a dharna.
Meanwhile, the BJP has acted swiftly against those who raised slogans against Poonia during the protest. The party has suspended Lakhan Singh Meena from Karauli district from the primary membership of the party.
Later, Singh told reporters that the party is identifying others who were involved in the ruckus. The video recording of the rally is being examined to identify the culprits and if any BJP worker is found to be involved, action will be taken against them.
Meanwhile, police have filed a case against unidentified persons for damaging government property. Vikram Singh, station house officer (SHO) of Ashok Nagar police station said police are scrutinising the video footage to identify the culprits and will take action against them.
