Chhatrapal Singh, who was caught taking Rs 15,000 in a sting operation to ask questions in the Rajya Sabha, has been given the BJP ticket to contest from Anupshahr in western UP. Lashing out at the decision to rope in tainted leaders, firebrand BJP MP Yogi Adityanath warned that the party will have to "face consequences if the trend continues". "Those who are corrupt in Mayawati government cannot become honest after coming to the BJP. A corrupt is a corrupt anywhere," the MP from Gorakhpur said.
"Such people should neither be allowed to join the party nor be given ticket to contest elections," he said and threatened that he would not campaign for such candidates and if needed would also oppose them.
"I feel we are making the same mistake that we made in 1997 and 2004 elections. In 1997 elections we had made criminal elements a part of the government. And in 2004 there was an attempt to include a criminal in the party. I think the same mistake is being repeated time and again," he said.
BJP MP from Dharbhanga Kirti Azad also criticised the decision to induct Kushwaha, who is facing Central Bureau of Investigation probe in the National Rural Health Mission scam, saying there is substance in the comments made by other parties. "If there is any mistake, the party will rectify it," he said.
Senior BJP leaders L K Advani, Sushma Swaraj and Murli Manohar Joshi had expressed their ire over Kushwaha's induction in the Central Election Committee meeting on Wednesday. Though the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh refrained from a direct comment, sources said it is not happy with the decision but will back BJP President Nitin Gadkari, who is its candidate, as this decision has his stamp of approval.
"Whom to give a ticket or not to give a ticket is the prerogative of the party leaders and they are the best judges of whether a particular decision will help them electorally and also help them in the larger context of their image and reputation," RSS leader Ram Madhav said.
Incidentally, RSS mouthpiece Panchajanya has dedicated two pages to how people of UP are fed up of mafia-rule in the state and want good governance.
BJP's National Democratic Alliance ally Janata Dal-United is also not pleased with the decision. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said he cannot accept that one levels charges against somebody (Kushwaha) and then accept him. "It is not a healthy and appropriate precedent. In fact, BJP is also facing opposition within the party for the decision," Kumar told reporters in Patna. "I don't think that it is a right and appropriate decision taken by the BJP."
These are not the only candidates over whom there is unease in the BJP. Shakshi Maharaj, the three-time BJP MP from Farrukhabad, who was jailed in Tihar and Etah in two cases of rape and sexual assault, will also contest the Assembly elections from Bhongaon.
Meanwhile, UP BJP executive member I P Singh, who had on Wednesday demanded Kushwaha's expulsion and had attacked state BJP chief Surya Pratap Shahi for inducting the tainted leader, was today suspended by the party for indulging in anti-party activities.
