UP Elections: BJP will pay the price for ignoring the backwards, says Swami Prasad Maurya

In 2017 you left the BSP to join the BJP. Where are you headed now?

I will make the announcement on Friday. And it’s not just me but several MLAs are with me who are making the move. When I left the BSP and joined the BJP, lakhs of people came with me, due to which I got majority; something similar will happen again. The BJP will pay the price for ignoring the backward.

What are your main greivances?

The party has ignored the Dalits, the poor, the farmers and the backward. We came to the party with the belief that it will take every one along but that has not happened. All they have done is make empty promises. BJP’s priority is not the welfare of the people of Uttar Pradesh and this country but the agenda of RSS. Towards that even the voice of big leaders is suppressed.

From Bahujan party to a party that is a strong votary of Hindutva and now Samajwadi. Are you not diluting on your ideology?

Nothing is more important than samman and swabhimaan (respect and self respect). When I had joined the BJP, I had thought the party under Yogi will take everyone along; clearly this has not happened. So I was not left with any choice.

If you were so frustrated with the party why did you remain in it for five years?

I tried to convey my concerns for Dalit, the poor and the backward at every forum but it was ignored everytime. Timing is important. I thought now is the best time to leave the party.

So you are joining the SP now?

I will make the announcement about my next move on Friday.

Deputy CM Keshav Maurya has tweeted that you should sit and talk to resolve any issue. Have you spoken to him?

Keshav ji is my younger brother but why should I talk to him when I know he too has been sidelined in the party. He should first stand for himself before worrying about me. Besides, now that I have resigned, there is no justification to talk.

Will your daughter who is an MP from Badaun also resign?

I have made the political decision for myself. I can’t comment on her. My daughter Sanghmitra is answerable to people of Badaun, so I can’t comment on her part. My decision has nothing to do with my daughter or my son.

There is a feeling that since the party denied a ticket to your son, you decided to leave.

All this is baseless. I am not the national president of any party so how can I demand such a thing. I am the strongest critic of parivarvaad (nepotism).

So you will not demand a ticket for your son in the party you are headed to.

As I said I am not the national president of any party. But yes I will always talk about the issues concerning the poor, the farmers, Dalits and backwards.

Now a warrant has been issued in your name in a seven-year old case.

Let the arrest warrant come. I will deal with it. I have complete faith in the judicial system