U.P. monsoon session: Unusual bonhomie marks Day 1 in Vidhan Parishad

The entire Question Hour passed off peacefully amid perfect harmony between the Opposition (SP) and treasury, which was something unusual considering the noisy scenes in the past

No noise, no trooping into the well, no acrimonious remarks, no counter allegations and no boycotts. The usual déjà vu was totally missing as Vidhan Parishad, the upper house of the state legislature, commenced on Monday with an unexpected and unusual display of bonhomie and coordination between the government and the opposition.

This unexpected calm defied the anticipation of a tumultuous session filled with slogans, boycotts and heated arguments, setting a new tone for the proceedings. (HT photo)

Contrary to the expectations of heated debates and confrontations, the first day of the monsoon session was marked by a notable absence of any acrimony. Before beginning of the Question Hour in the morning, deputy CM and leader of the house Keshav Prasad Maurya greeted Samajwadi Party’s (SP) Lal Bihari Yadav for being nominated the Leader of Opposition in the upper house.

The entire Question Hour passed off peacefully amid perfect harmony between the Opposition (SP) and treasury, which was something unusual considering the noisy scenes in the past. The SP members did disagree with certain answers given by the government to their questions but they did not go too far having made their point.

While the SP did raise concerns about the state’s law and order situation, alleging crime and corruption ruled the roost since the BJP came to power in the state, they refrained from making bitter comments or referring to the perceived internal fight in the government and the BJP.

In a surprising turn, Keshav Prasad Maurya, known for his relentless attacks on the SP and its chief Akhilesh Yadav, made no counter attacks on the SP while replying to the latter’s question on the law and order during the adjournment motion.

He only reeled out data to show the rate of most of the crimes had gone down in 2024 vis-à-vis 2016. On such occasions, Maurya has often been seen countering the SP’s allegations by reminding the party, in the strongest possible words, of its ‘goonda raj’ whenever it was in power in the state.

He, instead, chose to explain the steps that the government had taken with regard to the Ballia incident (as raised by the SP) in which police personnel at the Narhi border police station, along with touts, were found to be indulged in an extortion racket.

This unexpected calm defied the anticipation of a tumultuous session filled with slogans, boycotts and heated arguments, setting a new tone for the proceedings. The first day of the monsoon session was expected to be noisy especially in view of the SP being on cloud nine since its unprecedentedly good performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

The SP hence was anticipated to take on the BJP head on by launching bitter attacks on it on various issues at a time when the saffron party is not only grappling with internal challenges but has also been defensive since its unexpectedly underperformance in the LS polls.

Whether the same bonhomie between the government and the Opposition will continue or not during the remaining four days of the session, however, remains to be seen.