As per ANI, Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has demanded that cases filed against its members for the Bharat Bandh in April in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh be withdrawn or it will reconsider its outside support to the newly elected Congress governments in the states.
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in a press release: We demand that cases filed during the ‘Bharat band’ held on 2 April 2018 for SC/ST Act 1989 in Rajasthan & Madhya Pradesh be withdrawn. If these demands are not met, we’ll reconsider our decision to give outside support to Congress. pic.twitter.com/KCEOmzwra9
— ANI (@ANI) December 31, 2018
Earlier, it was reported that the Congress government in Madhya Pradesh will withdraw cases against its own cadre which were called “political vendetta”. “The State government will withdraw cases lodged by the previous BJP government on Congress workers. The government will also implement the journalist protection act in the near future,” Minister of Law and Legal Affairs P.C. Sharma had said.
There has been some friction between the two political parties and the Congress party has found it difficult to reach an agreement regarding a Mahagathbandhan ahead of 2019 General Elections. We had reported earlier that the BSP had made its intentions clear that it will contest all seats in Madhya Pradesh next year.
Former Bihar CM Jitan Ram Manjhi’s party, Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) had also threatened the Mahagathbandhan that it will boycott the elections if their demands are not met. Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav had also expressed his dissatisfaction with the manner in which the Congress party was conducting itself.
The latest demand by the BSP to have cases against its members dropped is a further instance of the power play the party is playing. The party realizes Congress’ weak position ahead of Lok Sabha elections next year and it’s bargaining for more concessions.
