UP Minister Swami Prasad Maurya Joins SP, Three Other MLAs Quit BJP

UP Cabinet Minister Resigns: In his resignation letter, Swami Prasad Maurya said that he was upset at the sidelining of Dalits and weaker sections of society.

Swami Prasad Maurya with SP chief Akhilesh Yadav (Twitter/@yadavakhilesh)

New Delhi: In a setback to the BJP just weeks ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly election, Minister Swami Prasad Maurya resigned from the state cabinet on Tuesday and joined the Samajwadi Party (SP).

Three other MLAs -- Tilhar MLA Roshan Lal Verma, Bilhaur MLA Bhagwati Prasad Sagar and Tindwari MLA Brajesh Prajapati -- also resigned from BJP. "We will go wherever Swami Prasad Maurya goes. We came with him from BSP to BJP and our future journey will continue with him," IANS quoted the legislators as saying.

Informing about his decision, Maurya tweeted, "Due to the attitude of gross neglect towards Dalits, backwards, farmers, unemployed youth and small and medium-sized traders, I am resigning from the council of ministers of Yogi (Adityanath) of UP."

सामाजिक न्याय और समता-समानता की लड़ाई लड़ने वाले लोकप्रिय नेता श्री स्वामी प्रसाद मौर्या जी एवं उनके साथ आने वाले अन्य सभी नेताओं, कार्यकर्ताओं और समर्थकों का सपा में ससम्मान हार्दिक स्वागत एवं अभिनंदन!

सामाजिक न्याय का इंक़लाब होगा ~ बाइस में बदलाव होगा#बाइसमेंबाइसिकल pic.twitter.com/BPvSK3GEDQ

— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) January 11, 2022

In his resignation letter, Swami Prasad Maurya said that he was upset at the sidelining of Dalits and weaker sections of society. Speaking to reporters, Maurya said dozens of BJP MLAs would resign in the coming days.

Minutes after his resignation, Akhilesh Yadav shared a photo of him with Maurya on Twitter, welcoming him into the SP fold.

"I warmly welcome Swami Prasad Maurya, a leader who fights for social justice and equality, and all his supporters. There will be a revolution in social justice. Chang is coming in 2022," Akhilesh Yadav tweeted in Hindi.

 

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माननीय राज्यपाल जी , राज भवन, लखनऊ,उत्तर प्रदेश। महोदय, माननीय मुख्यमंत्री योगी आदित्यनाथ जी के मंत्रिमंडल में श्रम एवं सेवायोजन व समन्वय मंत्री के रूप में विपरीत परिस्थितियों व विचारधारा में रहकर भी बहुत ही मनोयोग के साथ उत्तरदायित्व का निर्वहन किया है किंतु दलितों, पिछड़ों, किसानों बेरोजगार नौजवानों एवं छोटे- लघु एवं मध्यम श्रेणी के व्या

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- Swami Prasad Maurya (@SwamiPMaurya) 11 Jan 2022

Uttar Pradesh deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya posted an appeal on Twitter, saying "decisions taken in haste can backfire".

"I don't know why Swami Prasad Maurya quit but I appeal to him, don't quit but let us talk. Decisions taken in haste can backfire," Keshav Prasad Maurya said.

Swami Prasad Maurya, once one of the senior-most leader in the Bahujan Samaj Party, had joined the BJP just before the 2017 Assembly election.

He won the Padrauna seat on a BJP ticket in 2017 and was made Labour Minister. His daughter Sanghmitra Maurya is a BJP MP from Badaun.