Swami Prasad Maurya on Tuesday tendered his resignation from the Samajwadi Party. Former Uttar Pradesh cabinet minister and prominent OBC leader Swami Prasad Maurya had joined the Samajwadi Party in 2022 and unsuccessfully contested the assembly polls from Fazilnagar.
Maurya last week resigned as the party's national general secretary accusing the leadership of discriminating against him and not defending him over his remarks. Maurya had made controversial statements on the Ramcharitmanas and the Ayodhya temple consecration ceremony.
Speaking on the governor's address in the Legislative Assembly, Maurya had raised questions on Ram Lalla's 'Pran Pratishtha' (consecration) ceremony and said when Lord Ram has been worshipped in Ayodhya for thousands of years, what was the need to spend crores of rupees on the consecration ceremony on January 22.
"According to my understanding, Swami Prasad Maurya ji had joined the party during the elections. Despite not being able to win the elections, the Samajwadi Party made him an MLC and sent him to the Assembly and we fully respect Swami Prasad Maurya ji," SP leader Dimple Yadav said.
Maurya, who is considered a prominent leader of the backward classes in the state, has also been a member of the Legislative Assembly five times, a minister in the Uttar Pradesh government, leader of the House and leader of the opposition (2012-17) when he was in BSP.
He was the labour minister in the Yogi Adityanath government between 2017 and 2022 and quit the BJP ahead of the last assembly election.
