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).
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.”
Warm welcome and greetings to the popular leader Shri Swami Prasad Maurya Ji, who fought for social justice and equality and all the other leaders, workers and supporters who came with him in SP!
There will be revolution of social justice~ There will be change in twenty#bisembicycle 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.
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.
.