LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on Saturday accused the Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav of not being able to "tolerate" any leader from the backward caste whose stature is growing.
In a tweet in Hindi, Maurya said, "SP president Akhilesh Yadav jee, you are not able to tolerate the growing stature of any leaders of the backward class. You want that there should be no bigger OBC leader, and you are anti-backwards. Did you make any OBC leader a deputy chief minister when you were the chief minister? The backwards have reposed their faith in (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi."
However, Keshav Prasad Maurya did not name any OBC leader in his tweet.
Maurya's comment assumes significance as it came minutes after tweets by the Samajwadi Party's letters to its ally and SBSP chief Om Prakash Rajbhar and his uncle and PSPL chief Shivpal Yadav that they "can go where he will get more respect".
Rajbhar had supported NDA presidential nominee Droupadi Murmu, breaking ranks with the opposition for the July 18 election that brought to the fore cracks in the anti-BJP grouping.
The opposition Samajwadi Party had fought the recent Uttar Pradesh assembly polls together with Jayant Chaudhary's RLD, Rajbhar's SBSP, Apna Dal (Kamerawadi), Keshav Dev Maurya's Mahan Dal and the Janwadi Party.
The Mahan Dal and the Janwadi Party have already severed ties with the SP.
Apart from the SBSP, Shivpal Yadav's Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party-Lohia also appeared to be inching closer to the ruling BJP over the past few months.
Uttar Pradesh minister and the BJP's state unit president Swatantra Dev Singh on Saturday hit out at Yadav, alleging had he become chief minister the state would have been looted.
At a public function, he said that since Narendra Modi became prime minister, his focus has been on the development of every section of society.
"The people of Uttar Pradesh did not make any mistake (during the recently concluded Assembly election). Had they made even the slightest mistake, Akhilesh Yadav would have become chief minister and looted (the state); dacoity would have taken place in the state," Singh said.
Praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said with people's blessings, the central and state governments are providing all facilities and resources to the people.
Talking to reporters about the uneven distribution of rains, the Uttar Pradesh Jal Shakti Minister said, "If there is less rainfall, our priority is to provide irrigation facilities to the farmers by running the canals at full capacity."
Asked if Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party president Omprakash Rajbhar, who had joined hands with the Samajwadi Party during the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, would join the BJP, Swatantra Dev Singh said only Rajbhar can answer that question.