An ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday accused Chief Minister Adityanath of “ignoring MLAs” and his officers of mistreating the state’s legislators. The president of the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party, Om Prakash Rajbhar, alleged that Adityanath ignored the suggestions of most of his ministers and made decisions after consulting only a few “corrupt officers” who, he said, “have been sending fake reports”, The Telegraph reported.
“The CM is ignoring MLAs and his officers are mistreating the MLAs,” said Rajbhar, who is minister for backward class welfare. “He is ignoring me, too. They try to insult me by not putting a chair for me at Cabinet meetings.” Rajbhar also stressed that “only an elected person should be handed the post of the CM so he has regard for other elected members”. Adityanath is not an MLA, but a member of the Assembly’s indirectly elected upper chamber.
He said it was “high time” that the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party “pulls out of the alliance” with the BJP in Uttar Pradesh. He will make a final decision about this after discussing his concerns with BJP President Amit Shah in Lucknow on Tuesday. The Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party has four MLAs in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly.
Rajbhar made the remarks at a government function in Beruarbari village in Bansdih. He also accused the Adityanath government of favouring people from upper castes, PTI reported.
“The BJP’s slogan of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikaas’ is not being implemented in letter and spirit as relatives of senior BJP leaders from upper castes have been appointed [to the Uttar Pradesh Secondary Education Board],” Rajbhar pointed out. “Now tell me: where will people from backward castes and scheduled castes go? At meetings of the UP Cabinet, everyone’s views are heard, but the decision is taken by just four to five people. If we have voted for you, then we should also have a say.”
Rajbhar’s latest accusations against Adityanath come weeks after he accused the Uttar Pradesh government of being “just focused on temples” and not on the poor. At the time, he had also accused the BJP of not consulting his party before choosing candidates for the Rajya Sabha elections.
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