The Winter Session of the Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Sabha began on a stormy note with the entire Opposition, including the Congress and the Rashtriya Lok Dal disrupting Governor T V Rajeswar's address to the joint session of the House, forcing him to leave in a huff without reading the full text of his speech.
The Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Congress and RLD members were up on their feet as soon as the governor rose to read his address and began shouting anti-government slogans, demanding its dismissal for failing to deliver on the law and order front.
Carrying banners and placards that read 'Killer government must go' and 'Rajyapal wapas jao' (Governor go back), a determined Opposition kept shouting slogans forcing the governor to read the first and the last sentence of his address to the joint session before leaving the House.
Later speaking to reporters outside the House, Leader of the Opposition Lalji Tandon said his party had protested against the governor's address as it did not contain any reference to the sensational Nithari incident and the plight of the common people in the Mulayam Singh Yadav regime.
"The governor, who keeps on criticising the government outside the House, should have included his criticism in his address," Tandon said.
He claimed that the governor had instead registered his protest against the government by not reading his address.
BJP state president Kesri Nath Tripathi said the Opposition would have a chance to oust the government during voting on the motion of thanks to the governor's address later in the House.
Tripathi termed the withdrawal of support to the Mulayam Singh government by the Congress as a "drama" and said the Congress had been a partner in the wrongdoings of the government.
He, however, said that if the Congress brings a no-confidence motion against the Mulayam Singh government in the House, the BJP will support it.
BSP legislature party leader Swami Prasad Maurya also said the address of the governor had no mention of the laxity of the officials in Nithari killings and the wrongdoings of the Mulayam Singh government.
Maurya demanded immediate dismissal of the government for its failure on all fronts especially on the law and order situation.
The governor, in his address, praised the government for "tightening its grip over the law and order situation" and claimed that there had been a "positive decline" in the incidents of dacoity, kidnappings for ransom, road hold-ups and rioting as compared to the past years.
He referred to the killings of the dacoits and criminals, modernisation of the police force, decline in Naxalite activities and controlling terrorist incidents.
On the Nithari incident, the governor said the state government had dealt with senstivity towards the victims and extended financial assistance to them.
The governor also mentioned the steps taken by the government for the welfare of the farmers, including the hike in the cane support price and clearing dues of the cane farmers.
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