Samajwadi MLAs created a furore in the UP Assembly on Friday when they all came dressed in black to register their protest against the Mayawati government.
Last year, SP MLAs had brought in black balloons into the House to show their protest.
As soon as the House began and governor B.L. Joshi arrived to address the joint session of the state legislature, the SP MLAs stood up on their benches, shouting slogans against the government and holding up placards that said: “Maya raj mein mili hai chhoot/jitna loot sako to loot” and “Divya, Sheelu kare guhar/ band karo yeh balatkar”. Placards demanding the release of independent MLA Raja Bhaiyya were also on display.
The BJP also joined in the protest with yellow placards.
As the governor attempted to read his address, the SP MLAs upped the ante and threw paper balls forcing the governor to leave after reading the opening and closing sentences of his address.
Meanwhile, the SP gimmick of wearing black left several red faces in the treasury benches. BSP MLAs who had worn black jackets and black shawls were taken aback by the novel protest by SP legislators.
“We never expected this and did not know what to do. We could not even take off our black jackets/ sweaters since that would have been even more embarrassing,” said a BSP MLA who was also wearing a black sweater.
The state government, apparently, did not have any inkling about this kind of protest even though all SP MLAs had collected at the party headquarters in the morning and had collected their black kurtas from there.
“This is undoubtedly an intelligence failure and we will take necessary action where required in the matter,” said a senior government official.
A senior SP MLA, meanwhile, said that the party had planned more “surprises” in the coming days of the budget session. “We will take this government head-on and send out a clear message that the party is the only viable political alternative,” he said.
Meanwhile, in a departure from established legislative traditions, the governor’s address began by paying condolences to former BSP MLA Jamuna Prasad Nishad who died in a road mishap last year.
The governor began his address by wishing the house a happy new year and then went on to condole the MLA’s death.
The governor’s address, meanwhile, chronicled all the various welfare schemes initiated by the Mayawati government and then went on to criticise the centre for no responding to the state government’s requests for more financial assistance.