SBSP chief dismisses claims of joining BJP
Lucknow (PTI): SBSP chief Om Prakash Rajbhar on Sunday dismissed claims of joining former ally BJP in Uttar Pradesh and meeting Amit Shah, saying neither did he go to Delhi, nor meet anyone.
The claims were made on social media on Saturday that Rajbhar had met Union Home Minister and senior BJP leader Shah in the national capital.
The Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) had fought the 2017 Uttar Pradesh assembly polls with the BJP, but severed ties with the saffron party as Rajbhar quit the Yogi Adityanath cabinet before the 2019 general elections.
In 2022, the SBSP fought the Uttar Pradesh polls as part of the Samajwadi Party-led alliance, which lost at the hustings.
"The news (of SBSP joining hands with the BJP) is baseless. Neither did I go to Delhi, nor meet anyone. We are with the Samajwadi Party, and have started preparations for the upcoming urban local bodies elections in the state," Rajbhar told reporters here.
SBSP national general secretary and spokesperson Arun Rajbhar told PTI, "There is no question of aligning with the BJP. The photo doing rounds on social media is an old photo."
"An attempt is being made so that we may align with the BJP. We are with the Samajwadi Party and will contest the 2024 Lok Sabha elections with them," he said.
In the 2022 polls, the BJP won 255 of the 403 assembly seats in the state, while the Samajwadi Party got 111. The SBSP bagged six, two seats more than what it got in 2017 as a ally of the BJP.
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Karnataka Guv to halve convoy size following PM Modi's austerity call
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot on Thursday reduced the size of his official convoy to the minimum required strength following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's austerity call.
In a post on 'X', the Lok Bhavan said Gehlot had taken the step in response to the Prime Minister's appeal for fuel conservation and reduction in foreign exchange expenditure amid the West Asia crisis.
"Hon'ble Governor of Karnataka Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot has reduced his convoy to the minimum required strength, following Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji's appeal," the post said.
The move comes days after Modi, while addressing a rally organised by the BJP in Hyderabad, called for several measures aimed at conserving foreign exchange and reducing dependence on imports amid tensions in West Asia.
The Prime Minister had urged citizens to reduce petrol and diesel consumption, use metro rail services in cities, adopt carpooling, increase the use of electric vehicles and utilise railway services for parcel transportation. He had also suggested working from home wherever possible to conserve fuel and foreign exchange.
Modi further appealed to people to postpone the purchase of gold and foreign travel for one year, reduce edible oil consumption, lower dependence on chemical fertilisers and promote natural farming and swadeshi products to strengthen self-reliance and conserve foreign exchange.
