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‘Ab pata chalega…’: Swami Prasad Maurya jabs BJP as more MLAs quit party
BJP MLAs Roshan Lal Verma, Bhagwati Sagar and Brajesh Prajapati have reportedly resigned hours after Swami Prasad Maurya quit the Yogi Adityanath cabinet.
Swami Prasad Maurya created a major political flutter in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday after putting in his papers as a minister in the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government and was welcomed to the Samajwadi Party by Akhilesh Yadav. Soon after, at least three lawmakers from the ruling camp reportedly quit the party.
The developments came on a day home minister Amit Shah and Adityanath held a key BJP meeting in the national capital to shortlist probable candidates for the initial phases of the state assembly polls. The seven-phase high-octane election is set to begin on February 10 and continue till March 7. The results will be declared on March 10.
Among the lawmakers who have reportedly resigned from the BJP following Maurya’s footsteps are Roshan Lal Verma, Bhagwati Sagar and Brajesh Prajapati.
Verma, who represents the Tilhar Assembly constituency in Shahjahanpur, said, "I will be there where Swami Prasad is."
Bhagwati Sagar is a BJP legislator from Bilhaur in Kanpur Nagar district, while Prajapati represents Banda's Tindwari assembly segment. After resigning from the primary membership of the BJP, Prajapati said, "Swami Prasad Maurya is the voice of the backward classes. He is our leader and I am with him."
The former minister, after resigning said “ab pata chalega, Swami Prasad Maurya kaun hai. Main jahan rahunga wahan sarkar banegi (now, it will be known who is Swami Prasad. Government will be formed wherever I am)," he said.
Earlier, he said, “I have resigned from the Yogi cabinet keeping in mind the government's attitude towards Dalits, backward classes, farmers, youths and traders. I will consult with my supporters and take a decision on joining another party. Dozens of MLAs will resign in the coming days.”
Several top bjp leaders, including Shah, are said to be trying to reach out to Maurya. However, the efforts may have not yielded any positive result yet as revealed by a tweet shared by BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia.
Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party workers gathered outside the party office in Lucknow over the news.
