Lucknow: BJP Charkhari MLA Brij Bhushan Rajput’s recent standoff with Jal Shakti minister Swatantra Dev Singh over lack of civic amenities in Mahoba district of Bundelkhand was not just one off incident.In fact, he seems to have inherited the art of ‘political theatrics’ from his father, former MP Ganga Charan Rajput, say political analysts. A party hopper, he hit the headlines during his stint with Cong when he put a gun to his head and threatened to shoot himself if the then AICC chief Sonia Gandhi didn’t accept the PM’s post after the 2004 Lok Sabha elections.In 2014, Brij Bhusan Rajput, 43, with hundreds of supporters, had laid siege to the residence of the then Congress MP and Union MoS rural development Pradeep Aditya Jain against the UPA govt’s alleged failure to ensure adequate power and drinking water supply in the drought-prone Bundelkhand region.Then 31-year-old, he was the leader of Bundelkhand Adhikar Sena, a pressure group in Bundelkhand. The lathi-wielding protesters had remained camped outside Jain’s residence for five hours and withdrew only after the minister assured them of taking up the issue at the “highest possible” level.A decade later, Rajput, now a two-time BJP MLA from Charkhari, was back to his elements last week when he blocked the convoy of Jal Shakti minister Swatantra Dev Singh, alleging gross neglect in the maintenance of village roads that were dug up for laying pipelines under the Har Ghar Nal (tap water) scheme.Rajput also levelled allegations of corruption in the implementation of the scheme, which aims to provide drinking water to every household in Bundelkhand region.“I had been highlighting the issue for the past two years. I raised questions in the Assembly and even wrote to the minister several times. My appeals are yet to be addressed. I did what I was supposed to. The ball is now in the govt’s court,” he told TOI. When confronted, Swatantra Dev Singh asked Rajput to meet him in the office but the MLA remained adamant on resolving the matter on the spot only. In a viral video, apparently shot after the Mahoba incident, Rajput was heard telling supporters proudly: “You have seen me as an MLA... check my history… holding someone hostage is no big deal for me… earlier, we used to make officers who didn’t do their work wear bangles and petticoats).” Rajput added that he started exercising restraint only after becoming a member of BJP in 2016.Rajput, a Lodh, managed to get BJP ticket from Charkhari replacing senior party member Uma Bharti in the 2017 Assembly elections. He won by defeating SP’s Urmila Devi by 44,000 votes. He retained the seat in 2022 by defeating SP’s Ram Jivan by 40,000 votes.His father, Ganga Charan Rajput, was a three-term Lok Sabha MP from Hamirpur (on Janata Dal ticket in 1989 and on BJP ticket in 1996 and 1998) and a one-time Rajya Sabha MP on a BSP ticket. He later joined the Congress and is back in BJP again. The Mahoba incident, nevertheless, has left BJP deeply embarrassed. UP BJP sources said state general secretary (organisation) Dharam Pal Singh called Rajput and expressed his reservations about his conduct. Sources said Singh asked the MLA to exercise restraint and follow the rules of the party.A senior UP BJP functionary said that Rajput’s stance was nothing short of “muscle flexing” to corner his party minister. “Such conduct only gives feelers to the opposition, which is reprehensible,” he added.UP BJP seeks explanation from RajputTOI has learnt that UP BJP chief Pankaj Chaudhary has sent a show cause notice to Charkhari MLA Brj Bhushan Rajput. Chaudhary has sought an explanation from MLA for issuing statements on social media about BJP leaders. Rajput, in a viral video, can be heard asking why he should speak to ministers in their rooms and not on the road.
