I have rejected BJP, no question of going back: Swami Prasad Maurya day after quitting UP Cabinet

Swami Prasad Maurya said his resignation had set off a ‘storm in the BJP and had shaken the party’ ahead of UP polls.

File Photo (ANI)

New Delhi: After stoking a political storm by his exit from the Uttar Pradesh Cabinet, MLA Swami Prasad Maurya on Wednesday (January 12) asserted that he does not plan on returning to the BJP. 

Talking to reporters, he said, "I have rejected the BJP and there is no question of going back.” 

Maurya, who quit as a Minister from the UP government on Tuesday, as quoted by IANS said, "I have only quit as a minister. I will quit the BJP soon. For now, I am not joining the Samajwadi Party.” 

The UP MLA claimed his resignation had set off a ‘storm in the BJP and had shaken the party’. As per reports, in an effort to bring him back into the fold ahead of crucial Assembly elections,  some senior BJP leaders had spoken to Maurya on phone after he stepped down. 

Meanwhile, speaking to ANI, Maurya said he will formally join the SP on January 14. "I will be joining the Samajwadi Party on 14th January. I have not received calls from any small or big politician. If they were cautious on time and worked on public issues, then BJP would not have faced this,” he told the news agency. 

He added, "Whether the BJP leaders are big or small in power and position, it doesn`t matter to me as the arrow has come out of the bow. Now, there is no question of returning."

In his letter to Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel, Maurya had said he was resigning due to the state government "ignoring interests" of Dalits, backward sections, farmers, unemployed youth and small traders.

Soon after Maurya’s resignation on Tuesday, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav tweeted his photograph with him, confirming that the latter would join the SP.

The development comes in the wake of UP polls. The state will vote in seven phases beginning from February 10. The counting of votes will be done on March 10. 

(With agency inputs)