'Centre's Pressure On Him, Returned To Where He Came From': SP, Congress After Rajbhar Joins NDA

Samajwadi Party hit out at Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party chief Om Prakash Rajbhar for returning to NDA and said he is under some kind of pressure from the central government.

Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party chief Om Prakash Rajbhar returned to NDA on Sunday and said his party will fight the 2024 elections together with the BJP.

Source : PTI

Samajwadi Party on Sunday said that there is some kind of pressure from the Centre on Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) chief Om Prakash Rajbhar due to which he decided to join NDA. National Spokesperson of SP Ameeque Jamei said, "When he (Rajbhar) got separated from BJP last time, he had told that he would not join BJP ever, even if he dies because BJP and RSS are against people of backward class." The reaction came after Rajbhar said that his party will contest the next year's Lok Sabha elections as the NDA alliance partner.

#WATCH | "From Centre, there is some kind of pressure on him (Om Prakash Rajbhar)...when he got separated from BJP last time, he had told that he won't join BJP ever, even if he dies because BJP & RSS are against people of backward class...": Ameeque Jamei, National Spokesperson… https://t.co/OE1VgUncko pic.twitter.com/EsyRhDB9za

— ANI (@ANI) July 16, 2023

"Those who want to go with power, they will not go with people," Samajwadi Party spokesperson Anurag Bhadouria told PTI on Om Prakash Rajbhar-led SBSP joining NDA.

Reacting to the development, Congress MP Pramod Tiwari also hit out at Rajbhar and said the SBSP chief returned to where he came from, 'which is nothing new'. Tiwari also added that one can not predict anything about Rajbhar like where he is today and where he will be tomorrow.

"Om Rajbhar returned to where he came from...this is nothing new. You can't predict anything about him like where he is today and where he will be tomorrow": Congress MP Pramod Tiwari on SBSP chief Om Prakash Rajbhar joining NDA alliance pic.twitter.com/9psuho22Fe

— ANI (@ANI) July 16, 2023

Om Prakash Rajbhar returned to NDA after he met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi.

In a video posted by ANI, he said, "We met Union Home Minister Amit Shah on July 14 and discussed various issues and decided to fight the 2024 elections together. I want to thank PM Modi, HM Amit Shah, CM Yogi Adityanath for taking us along.”

#WATCH | SBSP chief Om Prakash Rajbhar speaks on his decision of joining the NDA alliance

"We met Union Home Minister Amit Shah on July 14 and discussed various issues and decided to fight the 2024 elections together. I want to thank PM Modi, HM Amit Shah, CM Yogi Adityanath… pic.twitter.com/gvI0whp1dl

— ANI (@ANI) July 16, 2023

Rajbhar also said his party will attend the NDA meeting in Delhi on July 18. He further said, “The post of minister is not important to me. Now there is no competition in Uttar Pradesh.”

Earlier in the day, he said SBSP and BJP will fight together for the protection of social justice country, security, good governance, deprived, oppressed, backward, Dalits, women, farmers, youth, and every weak class in the state.

भाजपा और सुभासपा आए साथ

सामाजिक न्याय देश की रक्षा- सुरक्षा, सुशासन वंचितों, शोषितों, पिछड़ों, दलितों, महिलाओं, किसानों, नौजवानों, हर कमजोर वर्ग को सशक्त बनाने के लिए भारतीय जनता पार्टी और सुहेलदेव भारतीय समाज पार्टी मिलकर लड़ेगी। pic.twitter.com/CDMXCc9EAM

— Om Prakash Rajbhar (@oprajbhar) July 16, 2023

Rajbhar’s party SBSP had earlier fought the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections in alliance with the BJP.

Later, he was also appointed minister for backward classes welfare in the first Yogi Adityanath Cabinet. However, he resigned after participating in a protest in Ghazipur in which he was demanding the removal of then-district magistrate Sanjay Kumar Khatri. Meanwhile,  SBSP fought the 2022 UP Assembly elections in alliance with the Samajwadi Party.