Debates on Gyanvapi, similar issues should have no place in modern India: RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary

Lucknow, May 29

Ahead of filing his nomination for the biennial election to the Rajya Sabha, Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Jayant Chaudhary on Sunday said debates such as those on the Gyanvapi mosque should not be entertained in modern democratic India.

Chaudhary, who will be filing his nomination on Monday, remained tight-lipped on whether he was upset with the apparent delay by the Samajwadi Party (SP) in announcing his name for the Rajya Sabha polls even as sources in his party said he was initially “taken aback” by the coalition partner’s attitude.

Once elected to the Rajya Sabha, Chaudhary, the joint candidate of the SP-RLD for the Rajya Sabha election, will be his party’s “lone ranger” in the Upper House of the Parliament.

“If you look at it, the law does not allow these sorts of debates (like the ongoing Gyanvapi issue) anymore. We must not entertain these debates in modern democratic India. Let us not create more disturbances for the future using our past as an excuse. We need to be looking forward and address the real issues of real India,” Chaudhary told PTI.

When asked about his nomination, the RLD chief said, “I will be filing my nomination papers on Monday. Today, there is an event in Delhi on the occasion of the death anniversary of Chaudhary Charan Singh. We are doing a ‘Samajik Nyaay conference’, and we are asking for a caste census along with other issues. There will be representatives from various parties.”

Meanwhile, RLD sources said the party chief was “taken aback” by the SP’s delay in announcing his name as the candidate for the Rajya Sabha election. “However, eventually everything fell in place,” a source said.

On RLD’s role in the Legislative Assembly and outside, Chaudhary said, “We will play a very positive role in the UP Assembly. We will look at developing our areas and constituencies. Among the opposition, we are the Number 2 party, and it is a big responsibility. We will keep the unity strong amongst our ranks in the Opposition.”

In the Uttar Pradesh Assembly election held earlier this year, the BJP won 255 seats. The SP won 111 seats while its ally RLD got eight.

When asked about how he viewed the 2022-23 Uttar Pradesh Budget recently tabled in the Assembly, Chaudhary said, “(The BJP) people say these same things ad nauseam. If we look at every budget speech, they are very similar. The fact is that UP’s debt is going up, unemployment has also soared.”

“It has not at all addressed the issue of unemployment. The financial health of the state PSUs is very poor. Infrastructure is poor and so is the quality of new roads. The Purvanchal Expressway is breaking up, and more attention should be paid to it. We all know that a large portion of the UP Budget goes in paying salaries,” Chaudhary said.

On pending payment to sugarcane farmers, he said an increase in production of the crop led to the issue. “You (BJP government) have nothing to do with that. The private industries are paying and the farmers are producing more. So they are getting more. You have not created any mechanism by which they can get timely payment,” he said.