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Akhilesh gave us ‘talaq’; he is a ‘skylab politician’: Om Prakash Rajbhar
Mulayam Singh Yadav was grassroot politician, and so is Shivpal Yadav. In contrast, Akhilesh Yadav is a ‘skylab politician, said the SBSP leader.
LUCKNOW SBSP chief Om Prakash Rajbhar spoke at length about the reasons that prompted him to back out from an alliance with the Samajwadi Party during the “Coffee with HT” event on Thursday.
He said, “We contested the 2022 U.P. assembly polls in alliance with the Samajwadi Party. After we quit the NDA (in 2019), our first preference for an alliance partner was Mayawati-led BSP but she did not take us on board. So, the SP was the only door open for us. On joining the SP alliance, we wanted a joint campaign and a few joint programmes with the SP but they did not like the idea. Our dispute with the SP began with seat sharing in 2022 but we carried on. The SP dictated the terms of seat sharing. They even fielded two of their candidates on our tickets (including former MLA Mukhtar Ansari’s son Abbas Ansari). We accepted that too.”
Rajbhar added, “The SBSP won six seats in the U.P. polls. After the polls, in the run-up to the election for Indian President, Akhilesh ji called us for a meeting. The meeting was held to rally support for the UPA Presidential candidate Yashwant Sinha. On the day of the meeting, five SBSP MLAs and I reached Lucknow. Subsequently, we were told that the meeting has been cancelled. Later, I realised that the meeting took place and was attended by Yashwant Sinha, Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Jayant Chaudhary and his MLAs. Only we were ignored. When I questioned Akhilesh, he said -- Go wherever you want.”
Sharing another such anecdote which led to the SBSP’s break-up with SP, he said, “When I was about to go to meet senior SP leader Azam Khan, Akhilesh asked me -- what business do I have there. So, I didn’t go. Finally, when U.P. chief minister Yogi Adityanath sought our support for the NDA Presidential candidate, I attended his meeting. Thereafter, Akhilesh told us -- aap apna dekh lo, hum apna (you go your way, I will do as I please). To me, that was Akhilesh giving us talaq (divorce), and our party accepted the talaq.”
Speaking on SP and his chief Akhilesh Yadav, Rajbhar said, “Shivpal Yadav returned to the SP fold as we made a lot of efforts for a mediation between him and Akhilesh. Besides, the SP tally went to 111 in 2022 assembly polls from 47 in 2017 because of the support of our community... Mulayam Singh Yadav was grassroot politician, and so is Shivpal Yadav. In contrast, Akhilesh Yadav is a ‘skylab politician’ (who just got parachuted into the political arena based on his inheritance).”
Manipur incident wouldn’t have happened, if...
Condemning the Manipur incident where two women were stripped, paraded naked, and raped, Rajbhar said, “The unfortunate incident in Manipur has outraged the country. Such an incident wouldn’t have had taken place if we had 50% reservation for our ‘aadhi aabadi’ (referring to women) in the Parliament, in Vidhan Sabhas, and in jobs. Women should have 50% reservation; I am all for it. Imagine if there had been 50% of women in Manipur assembly, in administration, and in police, no one would have dared to do such a thing.”
