Yogi Govt Focused on Temples Instead of the Poor: BJP Ally Rajbhar

Om Prakash Rajbhar said he is yet to decide if the party will vote for BJP’s nominees in the Rajya Sabha election.

Om Prakash Rajbhar, the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party

(Photo: ANI)

As the Yogi Adityanath-led government turns a year old, an ally of the ruling party has gone public with his criticism of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), NDTV reported on 19 March. Om Prakash Rajbhar, chief of the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party alleged that the BJP in Uttar Pradesh has merely focused on temples instead of the poor, with little change on ground.

A minister in the UP cabinet, Rajbhar said that the BJP did not consult his party before choosing its candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls despite the presence of the party’s four legislators in the UP assembly, Scroll reported. Rajbhar also warned that the ruling BJP "will lose elections" if the government doesn't mend its ways.

After a major blow in the bypolls, the BJP's biggest ally in the south, the Telugu Desam Party of Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu, withdrew its support and decided to push a no-confidence move in parliament. Taking cue, Rajbhar accused the party of not following the coalition drama in Uttar Pradesh.

The BJP is not following the coalition dharma. I have been expressing my concerns, but these people have gone crazy in their pride of having the support of [nearly] 325 MLAs in the Assembly.

Om Prakash Rajbhar, Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party chief to ANI

Although Rajbhar skipped the one-year celebrations, for now, he is not pulling out of the alliance.

Recently, union minister Ram Vilas Paswan, advised the party to learn from its crushing defeat in UP bypolls and "mend its image." Rajbhar, is the second ally to openly express his disenchantment with the BJP, the NDTV report added.

I say with conviction that in the villages of UP, only bribes are being demanded.

Om Prakash Rajbhar to NDTV on Yogi government’s promises of uprooting corruption

Meanwhile, Siddharth Nath Singh, a BJP minister in the state, said Rajbhar should not go public with his problems when he is in alliance with the party, the Scroll report added.

(With inputs from Scroll, NDTV)

(The Quint has given up the use of plastic plates and spoons in its cafeteria. This Earth Hour, what will you #GiveUp to save your planet? Use the hashtag #GiveUp and tag @TheQuint to tell us.)