Lucknow, February 9 Samajwadi Party MLAs on Monday staged a protest inside the Uttar Pradesh Assembly on various issues, including the special intensive revision exercise and alleged disrespect towards Queen Ahilyabai Holkar of Malwa.
When the House convened at 11 am, Speaker Satish Mahana invited the Governor to read out the address, senior Samajwadi Party (SP) member Dr. Sangram Yadav raised the issue of SIR (State Information and Resource).
As the Governor began speaking, SP legislators moved to the well of the House in front of the Speaker's podium and raised slogans such as "We will not tolerate the insult of Mata Ahilyabai for Hindustan."
Referring to the Governor's address as a "bundle of lies," SP members shouted slogans including "We will not accept this false speech," "Madam Governor, go back," and "Madam Governor, go back."
The slogans by the SP members continued until the end of the address.
SP members had come to the House carrying placards with slogans written on them.
SP MLA Sachin Yadav reached the House wearing a kurta with a picture of Holkar on the front and an image of the Manikarnika Ghat (in Varanasi) printed on the back, while SP MLA Atul Pradhan carried a large photograph of Holkar.
Amid slogans such as "Killer of Dalits and backward communities" and "We will not accept the anti-reservation government," the Governor concluded her address, which lasted for over 30 minutes.
During the address, she highlighted the achievements of the Uttar Pradesh government under the leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, while SP members continued their protest and sloganeering in front of the Speaker's chair.
Ahead of the start of the session, SP MLAs had held protests in the Assembly premises against the alleged anti-people policies of the state government.
Carrying placards, they alleged that the BJP government was infringing upon the rights of the PDA (Picchde Dalit Alpsankhyak) community.
During the protest, SP national spokesperson and Legislative Council member Rajendra Chaudhary alleged that the government had failed on all fronts.
SP members were vocal on the issue of discrepancies in the SIR (State Information and Resource) of the electoral rolls.
Opposition members were carrying placards with slogans such as "Rights for all, justice for all, PDA (Backward, Dalit, Minority) will prevail," "Give jobs to youth, end unemployment," and "Destruction in the name of development, no hope from the BJP."
SP legislator Yadav, who was holding a poster of Holkar, raised the issue of demolitions at the Manikarnika Ghat in Varanasi, alleging that the government had insulted Holkar, who had developed the ghats nearly 300 years ago.