Akhilesh should prove his majority in UP assembly or resign: BJP

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday asked Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav to prove his majority in a floor test in the state assembly, amid deepening strife within the Samajwadi Party (SP).

The demand came hours after Akhilesh sacked four ministers, including his uncle Shivpal Yadav, and the party leadership retaliated by ousting national general secretary Ramgopal Yadav.

Read | Yadav vs Yadav: Mulayam removes Ramgopal after Shivpal’s sacking

“CM Akhilesh Yadav should resign or prove his majority on the floor of the assembly,” UP BJP chief Keshav Prasad Maurya said.

“This government is now reduced to a minority and hence should not be allowed to take any policy decisions until it’s able to prove its majority on the floor of the assembly,” Maurya added. “Whether majority lawmakers are with the CM or Shivpal can only be proved on the floor of the assembly.”

In New Delhi, BJP national secretary Shrikant Sharma said recent developments within the Mulayam Singh Yadav-led party has “exposed” Akhilesh, and expressed confidence that the people of the poll-bound state will evince faith in the NDA as “change is inevitable” there.

“The ongoing theatrics within SP is an exercise of shrouding their sins. The party has become a sinking ship, which has failed on every front. Mafia raj prevailed during Akhilesh’s tenure. He could not keep promises of providing roads, electricity, (and) drinking water. Even healthcare is in doldrums,” Sharma said.

“The people of the state are set to evince trust in the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah in the forthcoming polls,” he added.

For more on the ongoing feud in the Yadav family, click here.

Maurya also fired a salvo at the embattled chief minister, questioning the “motive” behind the upheaval in the SP.

“By removing some of his ministers, some of whom were accused of being involved in huge scams, the chief minister has tried to indicate that he stands for clean governance. But then why did he tolerate these ministers for so long,” he said. “In fact, there are still several ministers in his government who carry serious charges.

“Why has Akhileshji been protecting them? The reality is that all this infighting is to share the ‘loot money’.”

Rita Bahuguna Joshi, who recently quit the Congress to join the BJP, said the Samajwadi Party was on the verge of a split, as the differences would only widen in the coming days.

The SP has come under increase attack after Sunday’s surprise decisions, which indicate a hardening of stands by both camps within the Yadav family. The new and young wing of the party is now led by Akhilesh and the old guard represented by Shivpal and backed by Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh, as the party readies to fight a tough election, battling mounting anti-incumbency.

With inputs from agencies