Gurjar issue: BJP suspends 2 MLAs

After buying time on the Gurjar reservation issue, the BJP today decided to come down hard on its own MLAs for either supporting or opposing the Gurjar cause.

The Rajasthan unit of the party suspended two of its MLAs in Rajasthan and sent notices of information to 19 other MLAs belonging both to Gurjar and scheduled tribe Meena community, for creating "caste hatred" and "posing a threat" to Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje.

The Gurjar MLAs have been accused of preventing Raje from entering her Jhalawar constituency in the aftermath of protests by Gurjars. The two suspended MLAs are Attar Singh Bhadana and Prahalad Gunjal, state BJP President Mahesh Sharma said.

The BJP's action came a day after a Gurjar mahapanchayat in Kota adopted a resolution to bar Raje from entering Jhalawar and the community decided not to vote in favour of the party in the next polls. The resolution was proposed by the two MLAs.

Bhadana represents Bayana constituency, and Gunjal is MLA from Bharatpur. Since the two proposed the resolution by voice vote, it amounted to party indiscipline and caused an insult to BJP's legislature party leader Raje, Sharma said in his suspension letter to the duo.

The two were also active in the violent stir for reservations which was suspended on June 5 after an agreement with the government.

The state BJP unit has also served notices of information to four Gurjar MLAs, including Panchayat Raj Minister Kalulal Gurjar. Besides, 15 Scheduled Tribe MLAs of the party, including Ministers K L Meena (Relief), Virendra Meena (Finance), and K M Katara (Women and Child Development), have been cautioned on causing "caste hatred" through Gurjar protests.