Day After His Exit, Arrest Warrant Issued Against Ex-UP Minister SP Maurya

The arrest warrant is in relation to an alleged hate speech that Swami Prasad Maurya had made in 2014.

An arrest warrant has been issued against former Uttar Pradesh Minister Swami Prasad Maurya on Wednesday, 12 January, a day after he resigned from the state Cabinet.

(Aroop Mishra/The Quint)

An arrest warrant was issued against former Uttar Pradesh Minister Swami Prasad Maurya on Wednesday, 12 January, a day after he resigned from the Yogi Adityanath Cabinet.

Maurya had been asked to appear today before the court in a hate speech case, but had skipped the summons, as per an NDTV report. He has now been asked to appear before the court on 24 January.

The arrest warrant is in relation to an alleged hate speech that the leader made in 2014.

Maurya, who was a leader of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) at the time, had reportedly said that goddess Gauri or god Ganesh should not be worshipped during weddings, adding that the system was a conspiracy by the upper-castes to mislead and enslave Dalits and other castes.

Swami Prasad Maurya's Resignation

The resignation of Swami Prasad Maurya, a prominent OBC (Other Backward Class) face of the BJP in UP, sent shockwaves through the party's state unit on Tuesday.

In his resignation letter to the governor, the BJP leader said that he was resigning from the Cabinet due to the "gross negligence meted out to Dalits, backward classes, farmers, unemployed youth, and small and middle-class businessmen in the state".

Maurya's departure was followed by the resignation of four more BJP legislators – Roshan Lal Verma, Brijesh Prajapati, Vinay Shakya, and Bhagwati Sagar.

Maurya is set to join the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party on 14 January.

Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, which will take place in seven phases beginning 10 February, will see parties contesting for 403 Assembly constituencies. The BJP, which presently holds a majority in the state, had won the 2017 polls with an overwhelming mandate of 312 seats.

(With inputs from NDTV)