Lucknow

Samajwadi Party (SP) legislators protested in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly on Monday, accusing the BJP government of failing to act on the Ram temple donation theft issue and demanding action over paper leaks.

Holding placards that read "NEET hai ya cheat hai" (is it NEET or cheat) and "daan ka paisa kahan milega, BJP ke khate me" (where will the donation money be found? In BJP's account), the SP MLAs and MLCs alleged that the government was attempting to suppress the truth in the Ram temple donation matter and sought a fair probe.

SP MLAs demanded a discussion in the House on issues such as paper leaks, unemployment, inflation, fertiliser shortage, floods and alleged reservation irregularities.

They accused the government of curtailing the Monsoon Session's duration to avoid debate on public issues. The Monsoon Session of the Uttar Pradesh Legislature began on Monday and will continue until August 6.

The state government is scheduled to present the supplementary budget for the 2026-27 financial year in both Houses of the Legislature on August 4. The protesting legislators said paper leaks had adversely affected students and demanded strict action against those responsible.

SP MLA Ragini Sonkar alleged that the BJP's "double-engine government" had shut down 26,000 schools in Uttar Pradesh by 2026, claiming that around 18,000 girls had dropped out of school as a result. She accused the BJP government of indulging in "mere rhetoric" and alleged that it was "playing with people's faith".

SP MLA Atul Pradhan alleged that BJP leaders had committed "the sin of stealing donations" meant for the Ram temple in Ayodhya and claimed that no concrete action had been taken on the Special Investigation Team (SIT) report constituted to probe the matter.

Carrying a donation box on his head during the protest, Pradhan said, "We have come here today to launch a campaign against those who stole devotees' donations."

SP member Kamal Akhtar alleged that unemployment was at its peak, paper leaks had become frequent, youth were being forced onto the streets, farmers were not getting fertilisers, flood conditions had worsened across Uttar Pradesh, and the healthcare system was in poor condition.

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"We want to raise all these issues in the House, but the government has curtailed the duration of the session to avoid a discussion on them," he said.