Telangana State president of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Dr. R.S. Praveen Kumar has called it quits with the party following the reported attempts of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) exerting pressure on the BSP leadership to end its alliance with Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) for the ensuing Lok Sabha elections.
Breaking the news on a social media platform X (formerly Twitter) late on Saturday afternoon, Dr. Praveen Kumar said addressing ‘bahujans’: “I am unable to type this message, but I must do it anyway as the time to take new path has arrived now. Please forgive me for this post and I have no choice left. With heavy heart I have decided to leave Bahujan Samaj Party”.
The former IPS officer who joined BSP in August 2021 after taking voluntary retirement. He served as the head of Telangana Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society (TSWREIS) for over seven years. Dr. Praveen Kumar said he did not want the image of the great party (BSP) to suffer because of the recent decisions (no matter how well informed they are) in Telangana under his leadership.
At the same time, he did not want to compromise on certain core principles and personal character. “As a Swaero, a product of the social welfare residential institutions, I shall not blame anyone and I also do not want to cheat those who trusted me. It is for BSP to decide the future course of action in Telangana. I profusely thank ‘Behenji’ (party chief Mayawati) for trusting and guiding me all through”, he said in the post.
Dr. Praveen Kumar said he wanted to assure all (his support base) that he would not bow down to “any pressure” in preserving the sacred constitutional values – justice, liberty, equality and fraternity – and work tirelessly to transform ‘bahujans’ as a righteous, self-reliant, forward looking and fearless class in his own way. “This will be my lifetime mission. I thank people of Telangana and India for standing by me all through”, he added.
Immediately, he drove to the Nandinagar residence of BRS president and former Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao for an emergency meeting to chalk out his future course of action.
It’s reliably understood that the BJP national leadership had exerted pressure on the BSP national leadership to end the alliance with BRS. The alliance was finalised with party chief Ms. Mayawati’s approval and the party was given Nagarkurnool and Hyderabad seats as part of seat-sharing by BRS.
