Raja Bhaiya back as minister in SP govt, Cong targets party
12 Oct 2013 1:12 AM GMT
Controversial independent MLA Raghuraj Prtap Singh alias Raja Bhaiya was re-inducted as a cabinet minister by chief minister Akhilesh Yadav on Friday.
Raja Bhaiya was sworn-in by governor B L Joshi at Raj Bhawan in the presence of SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, chief minister Akhilesh Yadav and senior cabinet minister Mohd Azam Khan. The former food and civil supplies minister had to resign from the cabinet after being named by DSP Haq’s wife Parvind Azad in the murder case earlier this year.
Speculation of his return was rife for the past one month after being given clean chit by the CBI, which is probing the case.
Re-induction of Raja Bhaiyya, five times independent MLA from Kunda assembly constituency in Pratapgarh district, in the cabinet is being seen as Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav’s attempt to please Thakurs in UP, who are drifting towards the BJP after Muzaffarnagar riots, in the run up to Lok Sabha elections.
After taking oath, Raja Bhaiyya said that he is innocent and the CBI probe has proven it.
He thanked Mulayam and Akhilesh for re-induction. Known for his muscle power, which earned him sobriquet ‘Kunda Ka Goonda’, Raja Bhaiyya belongs to the erstwhile royal family of the Bhadri estate.
Meanwhile, Congress targeted the SP government in Uttar Pradesh alleging the re-induction of controversial independent MLA Raghuraj Pratap Singh, alias Raja Bhaiya, into the cabinet showed the state has ‘rule of musclemen’.
‘The feeling of common people is well known about the state of affairs in the state. That there is no law and order in the state. It is a rule of musclemen and not rule of law. The re-induction of a minister whose resignation was recently taken puts a stamp over this belief’, party spokesman Raj Babbar told reporters.
Raja Bhaiya was sworn-in by governor B L Joshi at Raj Bhawan in the presence of SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, chief minister Akhilesh Yadav and senior cabinet minister Mohd Azam Khan. The former food and civil supplies minister had to resign from the cabinet after being named by DSP Haq’s wife Parvind Azad in the murder case earlier this year.
Speculation of his return was rife for the past one month after being given clean chit by the CBI, which is probing the case.
Re-induction of Raja Bhaiyya, five times independent MLA from Kunda assembly constituency in Pratapgarh district, in the cabinet is being seen as Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav’s attempt to please Thakurs in UP, who are drifting towards the BJP after Muzaffarnagar riots, in the run up to Lok Sabha elections.
After taking oath, Raja Bhaiyya said that he is innocent and the CBI probe has proven it.
He thanked Mulayam and Akhilesh for re-induction. Known for his muscle power, which earned him sobriquet ‘Kunda Ka Goonda’, Raja Bhaiyya belongs to the erstwhile royal family of the Bhadri estate.
Meanwhile, Congress targeted the SP government in Uttar Pradesh alleging the re-induction of controversial independent MLA Raghuraj Pratap Singh, alias Raja Bhaiya, into the cabinet showed the state has ‘rule of musclemen’.
‘The feeling of common people is well known about the state of affairs in the state. That there is no law and order in the state. It is a rule of musclemen and not rule of law. The re-induction of a minister whose resignation was recently taken puts a stamp over this belief’, party spokesman Raj Babbar told reporters.
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