Madhya Pradesh: BJP MLA rescinds resignation after midnight drama
Hours later on Friday morning, Brij Behari Pateriya (62), BJP MLA from Deori in Sagar district, made a U-turn saying that “I have changed my mind now. I am not resigning from the house. My party fully backs me and I also support my party”
In a video statement issued in the morning, Mr Pateriya said that he had taken the decision to resign from the Assembly out of frustration and anger over not being able to give justice to a poor family of his constituency. “It was an unfortunate decision. I regret it”, he said.
Mr Pateriya was among the 22 Congress MLAs, who had resigned from the party to pull down the 15-month-old Kamal Nath government in March 2020.
He had later joined BJP and retained his Deori Assembly constituency in a by-election a few months later.
He was re-elected to the Assembly in the November 2023 Assembly elections.
Mr Pateriya had staged a demonstration at the Kesli police station late on Thursday night when the police ‘refused’ to register a case against the doctor of a local government hospital for allegedly demanding bribes from the kin of a 70-year-old man, who died of snakebite, for giving a death certificate.
“The family members of the deceased will be deprived of compensation given for the snakebite death if the doctor did not certify the death of the old man accordingly.
The doctor allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 40,000 from the family of the deceased. But, the police refused to register a case against the doctor for demanding bribe”, Mr Pateriya told the media.
He said that there was no meaning to remain an MLA if he cannot address the genuine grievance of a person of his constituency and hence, he tendered resignation.
Sagar district superintendent of police Vikas Sahiwal rushed to the spot and assured the MLA of necessary action by the police in the matter. State BJP president Mr Sharma had also persuaded the MLA not to precipitate the matter further by insisting on resignation, leading Mr Pateriya to relent.