BJP ally skips event to mark first anniversary of Yogi govt

Lucknow, March 19 

Playing spoilsport, BJP ally Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) on Monday decided to skip a grand event held to mark the first anniversary of the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh and even took a pot-shot saying building temples in Mathura and Kashi will not solve people's problems.

SBSP chief Om Prakash Rajbhar even warned that if the BJP did not reach out to his party, his MLAs may skip voting in the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls.

"We made this government and it is our duty to repeatedly point out shortcomings. Holding celebrations is not going to serve the purpose. Building temples in Mathura and Kashi will not give education to the poor, or toilets and pension to them," a visibly angry SBSP leader and UP cabinet minister Rajbhar told newspersons here.

They are only concentrating on temples, he rued. "Kashi, Mathura, Ayodhya...but think about those poor people who have brought you to this position. There is a lot of talk but nothing concrete," he added.

We are in an alliance, but the alliance dharma is not being upheld by the BJP, he added.

Rajbhar also threatened that his party's four MLAs would boycott the coming Rajya Sabha elections incase "big brother" BJP does not redress its problems.

"If they do not talk to us. If (BJP chief) Amit Shah does not talk to us, our four MLAs will boycott the election and will not vote in the Rajya Sabha elections (on March 23)," Rajbhar said.

Refusing to take part in the celebrations on completion of one year in office, Rajbhar said, "Let them celebrate. I will not go to attend it till the question of ration cards, housing, education, medicine and others are not redressed".

Stressing that the BJP was ignoring smaller allies, Rajbhar said, "We kept begging for seats in the local body elections but we had to go it alone at the last moment...we were not taken into confidence in the (Lok Sabha) bye- elections. At no place in Purvanchal where BJP senior leaders went they took the name of SBSP or used our flag." 

The SBSP has considerable presence in pockets of Purvanchal in eastern UP.

"They fielded Anil Agarwal. We are alliance partners but they did not tell us or asked for us to vote for him. I kept saying let us talk but to no avail. Can an elder brother humiliate the younger one like this," Rajbhar asked.

The BJP has fielded nine candidates for the Rajya Sabha elections and Agarwal is one of them though the party is sure of victory in only eight seats.

Rajbhar, however, said he had not talked to either the SP or the BSP.

Senior minister in the Adityanath government Suresh Khanna, who met the sulking minister, however, played down the complaints.

"We are members of the government and discuss issues and keep meeting regularly and this meeting is nothing new," Khanna stressed.

Meanwhile, the Congress alleged that the government was misusing people's money on holding the grand celebrations.

In a statement, UP state Congress chief Raj Babbar said a cabinet minister was levelling charges of corruption and there was no clarification from the government.

He said the BJP had been rejected by the people in the recent Lok Sabha bye-elections and yet it was celebrating its one year in office.

"The evaluation of the government in democracy is done by the people and they have given their verdict by defeating the BJP in Phulpur and Gorakhpur bye-elections. The same government is today celebrating the success of one year in office," Babbar added.

BSP chief Mayawati asked the Uttar Pradesh govenrment to introspect on its failures instead of celebrating.

She also took a dig at the chief minister saying that working wholeheartedly with the right intentions for the welfare of the 22 crore poor and backward people of the state was the real "puja" and "raj dharma" which his government had failed to fulfil.

"Because of these reasons, the people of the state are expressing their anger against the BJP again and again...There is also the possibility of the BJP not performing well in the coming Lok Sabha polls," Mayawati said.

Those who have been elected by the people had promised that on coming to power they will resolve their problems, she said. "But nothing is being done...they are not able to face the people," she stressed.  - PTI