SP propagating lies says Mayawati amid talks of BSP MLAs switching sides

New Delhi, June 16: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati on Wednesday slammed the Samajwadi Party (SP) for propagating lies about some BSP MLAs joining their party.

The statement comes a day after at least five MLAs suspended by the BSP last year met Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, triggering speculation that they may join his party.

"SP is propagating lies about some BSP MLAs joining their party. We (BSP) had suspended them long back for conspiring with SP against a Dalit leader to defeat him in the Rajya Sabha polls," BSP president Mayawati tweeted in Hindi.

"If the SP had been a little honest towards these suspended MLAs, it would not have kept them hanging here and there till now. They know that if these BSP MLAs are inducted into SP, there will be rebellion and split in SP," she added.

In October 2020, seven BSP MLAs were suspended by party president Mayawati. They had opposed the nomination of party''s official candidate Ramji Gautam for the elections to the Rajya Sabha.

Apart from the five, the two other suspended from the party were Chaudhary Aslam Ali and Vandana Singh.

Earlier this month, Mayawati had expelled BSP''s legislative party leader Lalji Verma and Akbarpur MLA Ram Achal Rajbhar.

Meanwhile, BSP leader Uma Shankar Singh said the rebel MLAs who met Yadav hold the "stature of garbage".

The BSP won 19 seats in the elections and lost one in a by-poll. The BSP has 18 MLAs in the UP assembly and Mayawati had expelled 11 in the past four years. The seven MLAs who rebelled during the Rajya Sabha elections last year were expelled and that leaves the party with only seven MLAs in the assembly. These MLAs have however not been disqualified in the assembly as yet.