BJP MP finds govt has no data on achievements

After returning to the winning ways with the Assam verdict, the BJP has high hopes from Uttar Pradesh, and wants 71 MPs to deliver the state to the saffron kitty in the next year Assembly polls. But the BJP MPs from UP appear to be in a tight spot when it comes to showcasing achievements for their respective constituencies. So much so that they in their anguish lament that the MLAs in the state have better trackrecords than them.

BJP MP Jagadambika Pal was at his wits’ end when he sought to gather data of beneficiaries of various schemes being run by the ministry of rural development.

Sources who were privy to his ordeal revealed that when Mr Pal, who is an MP from the Doomariyaganj Lok Sabha constituency, sought to know the impact of the rural drinking water scheme from senior officials of the ministry, he was taken on a virtual tour of a mobile app. “The official took out his smartphone and helped Mr Pal see various layers of the app. He saw various pages from district, block, and village. But when it came to the list of beneficiaries, the app showed none,” sources said.

The official apparently was red-faced, and Mr Pal was left fuming, as the app failed to produce any data on the beneficiaries. Sources said that Mr Pal afterwards took the official on a verbal tour of the story of his ordeals.

“We can’t get handpumps to the people facing sever drought conditions. When we talk of path-breaking Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna (crop insurance), people say they got Rs 222 per hectare for drought compensation. We have Atal Pension Yojna in which people have to contribute, but the Samajwadi Pension Yojna is what the people talk about,” sources quoted Mr Pal as telling the officials.

Incidentally, Mr Pal is not alone, as a number of BJP MPs from UP are making rounds of the various ministries to get work done for their constituencies.

“I have been asking for a train for my constituency for a year now. Despite assurances, I have not been able to fulfill demands of the people in my constituency. They ask the MLAs are more effective than than us,” rued one BJP MP to an official in the Railway Board.

Another BJP MP from UP vented out his frustration after a senior official told him that it would not be possible to entertain his request for transfer of an officer as desired by him because of the rules. “It’s false to say that the government has changed. You bureaucrats still rule. My voters tell me why should they vote for me next time when I cann’t get even a small work done,” lamented the BJP MP from UP.