Chandigarh: Known for openly airing his resentment against his own party, Haryana transport minister Anil Vij, a seven-time MLA, has now removed `minister’ tag from his bio on X.
Besides transport, Vij also holds energy and labour portfolios.
Last week, in a fresh attack, Vij had targeted own party stating on X that some people who have blessings of some senior leaders, are running parallel BJP in Ambala Cantt constituency - the assembly seat he represents. Stating that the party was suffering because of it, he asked his supporters for suggestions on what should be done.
Asked about dropping the ``minister’’ tag, Vij has said that he did so as he did not want popularity as a minister and that his followers’ number has been increasing faster when he did not have the said tag….he did not need a tag anymore.
Few months ago, he had named a person who had photos with chief minister Nayab Saini and was also visited by some BJP leaders, and alleged that he openly sided with his rivals in the assembly polls.
Though Vij insists that he does not have any differences with the party leadership, sources in the saffron party say he felt side-lined or ignored in the government despite being the senior most legislator, since 2014 when BJP came to power in Haryana for the first time. It won 2024 assembly polls for the third term in a row.
Though he was the most powerful minister with the home department and considered No 2 in Manohar Lal Khattar-led BJP government in 2014, his run-in with Khattar often made headlines even then.
Vij has also targeted Nayab Saini who succeeded Khattar in the third BJP term, with firing salvos against the former. He had even alleged that there was a conspiracy to kill him during 2024 assembly elections.
Several rival political parties leaders have taken a dig at the ruling BJP saying that the BJP did not need an opposition till the time VIJ is in it.
However, his dissents notwithstanding, Vij has had a mass appeal given the fact that he has been elected a legislator seven times even, once as an independent candidate when he was denied ticket by BJP.
