Lucknow: A day after he resigned from Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh cabinet, a Sultanpur MP-MLA court on Wednesday issued an arrest warrant against former BJP minister Swami Prasad Maurya in an alleged seven-year-old case.
Maurya had been accused of stoking communal feelings in objectionable comments against Hindu Gods when he was in the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), in 2014.
According to reports, Maurya has been asked to appear in court on January 24. Reportedly, the local court's Judge Yogesh Kumar Yadav issued the warrant against the former lawmaker after he did not attend the court hearing.
When asked, Maurya laughed off the development saying, "All this and much more will happen now." He has now been asked to appear before the court on January 24 in the matter.
The influential OBC leader has resigned from Adityanath cabinet on Tuesday, days ahead of the much-crucial UP Assembly Elections, scheduled to begin from February 10.
In his resignation letter, he said that he was upset at the sidelining of Dalits and weaker sections of society. Maurya had joined the BJP just before the 2017 Assembly elections.
Swami Prasad Maurya To Join Samajwadi Party
Ending all speculations, Maurya on Wednesday said that he will join the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party (SP) on January 14.
"I will be joining the Samajwadi Party on 14th January. I have not received calls from any small or big politician. If they were cautious on time and worked on public issues, the BJP would not have to face this," news agency ANI quoted Maurya as saying.
Soon after resigning from the BJP, the senior politician met former UP Chief Minister and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav.