Lucknow, Nov 21: Alleging harassment by government officials ever since they withdrew support to the Mayawati government, dissident BJP legislators in Uttar Pradesh today sought the assembly speaker's intervention to protect the right of MLAs.

Leader of the dissident BJP group Ganga Bhakt Singh called on speaker Kesari Nath Tripathi and told him that harassment of sitting MLAs by government officials was an "insult on the state assembly" and therefore he should intervene to safeguard the right of MLAs. Singh submitted a memorandum to the speaker alleging harassment of legislators who had withdrawn support to the BSP-BJP coalition government, 'save BJP committee' spokesman Ramashish Rai told a news agency here.

Tripathi was apprised of the "excesses being committed on the legislators for no fault of theirs," Rai said. The dissident legislators had yesterday submitted a similar memorandum to Governor Vishnu Kant Shastri and had lodged a complaint of harassment such as raiding of the residences of jailed legislators Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiya and Dhananjay Singh.

Bureau Report