Tainted Kushwaha’s wife, brother join SP
In a surprise move, the wife and brother of former BSP minister Babu Singh Kushwaha joined the Samajwadi Party on Saturday, along with their supporters.
Addressing a press conference here, Samajwadi spokesman Rajendra Choudhury said Mrs Shiv Kanya Kushwaha and Mr Shiv Saran Kushwaha have expressed faith in the SP ideology and were joining the party. He said that their joining the party would strengthen the SP further.
Mr Babu Singh Kushwaha, an accused in the multi-crore National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and Labour and Construction Cooperative Federation scams, is in jail since the past 15 months.
Interestingly, the message sent out to journalists earlier in the day said that SP president Mulayam Singh Yadav would address a press conference but the party chief stayed away and sent the SP spokesman to announce the joining of Mrs Kushwaha and her brother-in-law.
Mr Rajendra Choudhury was at loss to explain the reason why the party had welcomed the scam tainted leader’s kin into its fold.
“Legal action is being taken against Mr Babu Singh Kushwaha, but that does not mean that his family members cannot serve the people and work in the field of politics,” said the SP spokesman while replying to a volley of questions.
Incidentally, the SP had made a major political issue of the NRHM scam during the Mayawati regime, forcing Mr Kushwaha to resign as the minister in charge.
The SP had also opposed Mr Kushwaha joining the BJP on the eve of the 2012 Vidhan Sabha polls, after he was unceremoniously thrown out of the BSP.
Meanwhile, BJP and Congress have criticised the SP for having double standards.
“On the one hand, FIRs are being lodged against Babu Singh Kushwaha and, on the other his wife and brother have been welcomed into the SP. The ruling party must say what deal has been struck on this issue and what message it wants to give to the people,” said BJP spokesman Vijay Bahadur Pathak said.
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