Hours after Om Prakash Rajbhar was sacked from the Uttar Pradesh council of ministers, the BJP said he has shattered the decorum of alliance dharma by continuously speaking against the party despite being an ally.
Earlier in the day, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath recommended to governor the immediate sacking of Rajbhar, also the Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) chief, from his cabinet for his outbursts against senior NDA partner BJP.
Governor Ram Naik accepted the recommendation and relieved Rajbhar from his post of Backward Class Welfare and Divyangjan Empowerment Minister, an official spokesperson said.
“The BJP is a party which gives full respect to its allies and honours the coalition dharma. But, it is unfortunate that our alliance partner in UP, Om Prakash Rajbhar, not just violated the decorum of alliance dharma, but shattered it. It is for this reason that the party and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath were compelled to take such a strong step.”State BJP chief Mahendra Nath Pandey
"Despite staying in alliance (NDA), Rajbhar continuously made statements against the BJP and the BJP-led UP government. He also opposed various policies of the state government," he added.
Pandey said Rajbhar construed the BJP’s “decorum” and “tolerance” as its “weakness”.
"He not only fielded candidates against the BJP in this Lok Sabha election, but also openly supported candidates of rival political parties. Despite this, we exercised restraint," the BJP leader said.
Pandey, however, hoped that the Rajbhar community will continue to support the BJP.
He alleged that Rajbhar had "deceived" the community which gave him an identity.
Adityanath also recommended to governor that all other SBSP members holding the rank of minister of state be removed immediately, the spokesperson said.
The BJP government’s decision comes a day after the exit poll results predicted a comfortable victory for the BJP-led NDA in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. However, Rajbhar had quit from the Uttar Pradesh government on 13 April.
OP Rajbhar Takes a Dig at Yogi Adityanath
Welcoming the decision, Rajbhar took a dig at Adityanath and said:
“We welcome his decision and hope that he will take decisions as quickly as he has taken this one today. He formed Social Justice Committee and threw its report in a dustbin, he didn’t have spare time to implement it. I request him to implement Social Justice Committee’s report as quickly as he took this decision today.”OP Rajbhar
Rajbhar has publicly criticised the BJP and, earlier last month, he had said that his party will contest the Lok Sabha election in the state alone, which prompted BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya to say that Rajbhar has "been with the BJP and will remain with it”.
However, Rajbhar had alleged that the BJP was trying to weaken his party.
The Rajbhars constitute 20 percent of the Purvanchal population and are regarded as the second-most politically dominant community after Yadavs in eastern UP.
Rajbhar had said the BJP was under an impression it could win all 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state and 400 seats in the country, “but the reality will dawn on 23 May”.
(With inputs from PTI)
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