Brajesh Pathak controversy: Uproar in assembly over deputy CM’s statement

Brajesh Pathak controversy: There was a huge uproar in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly today after Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak’s remarks, following which Samajwadi Party (SP) members protested fiercely and raised slogans. The controversy erupted when Brajesh Pathak indirectly referred to former Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav’s historic statement “ladko se galtiyon ho jaati hai” in his address.

As soon as the Deputy Chief Minister uttered these words, the entire SP camp got agitated and there was chaos in the Assembly. SP members protested and raised slogans, so much so that it became difficult to conduct the proceedings of the House. Speaker Satish Mahana had to intervene and say that the Assembly will run as per their wishes. After such strong opposition from SP members, the Speaker directed to remove Pathak’s words from the official records.

What was the controversial statement?

During his speech in the assembly, Deputy CM Brajesh Pathak said, “Our government is concerned about the poor. You (SP members) have always given respect to ‘Netaji’ (Mulayam Singh Yadav). If you follow all his words, do you also support his statement that ‘boys make mistakes’?”

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As soon as he said these words, there was an uproar in the assembly. SP MLAs started sloganeering and asked the Deputy CM to apologize, disrupting the proceedings.

Deputy CM’s clarification

After the controversy, Deputy CM Brajesh Pathak clarified his words and said, “I did not take anyone’s name. We respect everyone. It is our tradition to take everyone along. SP members are adopting an unparliamentary and unconstitutional attitude. Our government is fully committed to running the House smoothly and respecting everyone.” Even after his clarification, the remark had already kicked up a political storm, further increasing the political competition between the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh and the opposition SP.