Jeerleader of the pack - IndianExpress.Com

Jeerleader of the pack

Pradeep Kaushal

Posted online: Saturday, May 03, 2008 at 2339 hrs IST

New Delhi, May 2
After shouting himself hoarse trying to discipline members in the Lok Sabha, Speaker Somnath Chatterjee has learnt the hard way that he can’t shout them down—definitely not someone with sheer lungpower like Brajesh Pathak.

The most articulate of the 17-member-strong Bahujan Samaj Party group in the Lok Sabha, Pathak overshadows floor leader Rajesh Verma and veterans like Mitrasen Yadav, Akbar Ahmed Dumpy and Iliyas Azmi when the House is in session. He can single-handedly take on anyone from the treasury benches if he gets a nod from “Behenji”, BSP president and UP Chief Minister Mayawati.

It matters little to Pathak if Chatterjee tries to discipline him, denounces his conduct and warns him of strong action as long as he is in Mayawati’s good books.

Last week, he confronted Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and Mayawati’s bete noire, Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister Ram Vilas Paswan—the former over absence of drought-relief for Bundelkhand and the latter for an alleged short supply of fertilisers to UP.

Pathak was particularly belligerent while attacking Paswan. Pathak can claim the maximum credit for disrupting proceedings to press for a Rs 80,000-crore package for UP. He was the only one who seemed to have memorised party slogans devised for the occasion, while other BSP members were seen struggling with words despite help from a script that Pathak held up for them. Since his performance is sure to have pleased his party boss in Lucknow, Pathak would not mind the inevitable cost of Chatterjee’s displeasure for his “disorderly conduct”.

Tall and stout, 43-year-old Pathak is a lawyer and holds a post-graduate degree from Lucknow University. He was president of the Lucknow University Students’ Union in 1990. He was with the Congress before switching over to the BSP in 2003. A confidante of BSP strongman Satish Mishra, he played a key role in organising Brahmin conventions, which was the key to Mayawati’s Brahmin-Dalit formula and which brought her to power in UP. Mayawati nominated him from Unnao in the 2004 Lok Sabha polls. He won that election, defeating his Samajwadi Party rival in a multi-party contest. He has not looked back since.

Pathak was elected the deputy leader of the BSP parliamentary party and became a member of the business advisory committee and Public Accounts Committee and the consultative committee on home affairs. Ironically, Pathak is a member of the same privileges committee that is mandated to go into his conduct following a reference by the Speaker.

Unfazed by this development, Pathak is determined to do anything at the bidding of his party leadership. However, his new-found prominence is fraught with danger. In a party where such prominence leads to political elimination, Pathak’s future has to watched with interest.

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Jeerleader of the pack Pradeep Kaushal Posted online: Saturday, May 03, 2008 at 2339 hrs IST New Delhi, May 2 After shouting himself hoarse trying to discipline members in the Lok Sabha, Speaker Somnath Chatterjee has learnt the hard way that he can’t shout them down—definitely not someone with sheer lungpower like Brajesh Pathak. The most articulate of the 17-member-strong Bahujan Samaj Party group in the Lok Sabha, Pathak overshadows floor leader Rajesh Verma and veterans like Mitrasen Yadav, Akbar Ahmed Dumpy and Iliyas Azmi when the House is in session. He can single-handedly take on anyone from the treasury benches if he gets a nod from “Behenji”, BSP president and UP Chief Minister Mayawati. It matters little to Pathak if Chatterjee tries to discipline him, denounces his conduct and warns him of strong action as long as he is in Mayawati’s good books. Last week, he confronted Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and Mayawati’s bete noire, Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister Ram Vilas Paswan—the former over absence of drought-relief for Bundelkhand and the latter for an alleged short supply of fertilisers to UP. Pathak was particularly belligerent while attacking Paswan. Pathak can claim the maximum credit for disrupting proceedings to press for a Rs 80,000-crore package for UP. He was the only one who seemed to have memorised party slogans devised for the occasion, while other BSP members were seen struggling with words despite help from a script that Pathak held up for them. Since his performance is sure to have pleased his party boss in Lucknow, Pathak would not mind the inevitable cost of Chatterjee’s displeasure for his “disorderly conduct”. Tall and stout, 43-year-old Pathak is a lawyer and holds a post-graduate degree from Lucknow University. He was president of the Lucknow University Students’ Union in 1990. He was with the Congress before switching over to the BSP in 2003. A confidante of BSP strongman Satish Mishra, he played a key role in organising Brahmin conventions, which was the key to Mayawati’s Brahmin-Dalit formula and which brought her to power in UP. Mayawati nominated him from Unnao in the 2004 Lok Sabha polls. He won that election, defeating his Samajwadi Party rival in a multi-party contest. He has not looked back since. Pathak was elected the deputy leader of the BSP parliamentary party and became a member of the business advisory committee and Public Accounts Committee and the consultative committee on home affairs. Ironically, Pathak is a member of the same privileges committee that is mandated to go into his conduct following a reference by the Speaker. Unfazed by this development, Pathak is determined to do anything at the bidding of his party leadership. However, his new-found prominence is fraught with danger. In a party where such prominence leads to political elimination, Pathak’s future has to watched with interest.