Expelled leader accuses party of sidelining loyal workers to accomodate new entrants
Expelled leader accuses party of sidelining loyal workers to accomodate new entrants
Cracks in the Madhya Pradesh unit of the BJP were visible again on Wednesday. Rajendra Dhanora, a leader from Sagar, who was expelled for a controversial social media post against Minister Govind Singh Rajput, accused the party of ignoring its old workers and adopting double standards in dealing with intra-party criticism.
Earlier, Mr. Dhanora was expelled for six years, after the party saw his post and his constant demand for a local candidate for the Surkhi seat as an act of rebellion. At a press conference following his expulsion, Mr. Dhanora broke down and said that the party had forgotten his contributions for the last three decades and his track record of being honest.
“I worked hard for the party for 30 years and I have an untainted past. Yet, the party just took one minute to throw me out like an insect,” he said.
He said this was done to placate new entrants such as Mr. Rajput. Mr. Rajput is one of the 22 MLAs from Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia’s camp who had crossed over in 2020 to allow the BJP to return to power under Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Mr. Dhanora is a relative of Bhupendra Singh, a senior Minister in Mr. Chouhan’s Cabinet.
While he alleged that Mr. Rajput would try to harm him or frame him in false cases, Mr. Dhanora also said that he had been expelled by the party despite apologising for his post as Mr. Rajput and Mr. Scindia wanted him out. He also alleged that there was rampant corruption in the Surkhi region.
He further accused the BJP of having different yardsticks when it came to disciplinary action against those who criticised the government. This, he said, was based on the profile of the person.
“When [senior leader from Malwa] Kailash Vijayvargiya says that the Madhya Pradesh Government is being run by officers and when former Chief Minister Uma Bharti gives a statement on Shivraj government during the demand for ban on liquor, why doesn’t the party act on them for indiscipline…is it right? Is that action should be taken only on small leaders?” he said.
Notably, Ms. Bharti took a dig against the government again on Wednesday when, in the context of her ongoing anti-liquor stance, she said that she could not stay silent in the face of injustice just to deny the Opposition an opportunity.
Mr. Rajora’s statement comes at a time when the party is already recovering from another expulsion, that of Pritam Lodhi, a prominent Other Backward Class (OBC) leader who was expelled for six years in August for his alleged remarks on Brahmins. Since then, Mr. Lodhi has been trying to bring together OBCs and Scheduled Castes (SC) in the Gwalior-Chambal region to keep them away from his former party. He has organised several programmes during which he has criticised the BJP and the treatment meted out to him. At one such event earlier this month, many of his supporters were seen carrying firearms and Mr. Lodhi could be heard assuring them that he wouldn’t let their gun licenses be suspended.