He has also demanded that party president Amit Shah be replaced with former Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Union minister Nitin Gadkari be appointed Deputy Prime Minister and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath be replaced by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh.
New Delhi: A former Union minister in the Vajpayee cabinet and a veteran Dalit leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Uttar Pradesh, Sangh Priya Gautam has joined the ranks of party members speaking against the ruling government after losing the recent assembly elections. Gautam wrote an open letter in which he demanded Union Minister Nitin Gadkari be made the Deputy Prime Minister and erstwhile Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan the BJP President.
He wrote the letter to senior functionaries of the party saying that ‘Modi’s mantra’ may not be effective in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
He has also demanded that party president Amit Shah be replaced with former Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Union minister Nitin Gadkari be appointed Deputy Prime Minister and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath be replaced by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh.
Two-time Rajya Sabha member from Uttar Pradesh, Gautam was a minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.
In his letter, he has said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah should take responsibility for the party’s defeat in the recent Assembly elections. “Modi’s mantra and Amit Shah’s chakravyooh (strategy) became ineffective in recent Assembly polls of five states. BJP lost power in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh,” Gautam stated in the letter.
“Lok Sabha elections are to be held in coming days and it appears that the Modi mantra will not work in these elections. On the other side, workers across the country are disappointed and disgruntled but they are not raising voice. Repeat of BJP in the government and Narendra Modi becoming PM again are essential. Hence, certain changes in the government and party organisation are needed to be done. Nitin Gadkari should be made deputy PM and UP CM Adityanath should be engaged in religious works and Rajnath Singh should be appointed UP CM. Amit Shah should now work in Rajya Sabha and hand over the charge of party president to Shivraj Singh Chouhan. That will restore confidence in the workers,” Gautam wrote.
He said that Amit Shah was a member of the Rajya Sabha and should focus on the Upper House to work his ‘magic’ and make way for Chouhan to take over as the party president.
Although he began with the need to remove Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the 5-0 debacle of the BJP in the recent Assembly elections, Gautam ended by saying that he should remain but that Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari be brought in for better governance and administration as the Deputy Chief Minister.