New Delhi : Professing his innocence of any financial wrongdoing in the Uttar Pradesh rural health scam, newly-joined BJP member and backward caste leader Babu Singh Kushwaha Wednesday termed the allegations against him as a conspiracy to 'snatch away' the quota rights of the backward castes.
Accusing the Congress and Bahujan Samaj Party, from which he was expelled in November, of 'being hand in glove in snatching away the rights of OBCs by taking away their share of reservation', Kushwaha said his decision to join the Bharatiya Janata Party was a well-thought-out move.
'I have joined BJP after thinking well enough. The 4.5 percent reservation of other backward castes, which has been taken away, is a conspiracy to snatch away the rights of the backward castes,' Kushwaha said Wednesday evening after a day-long drama surrounding his induction in the BJP.
'BSP and Congress are hand in glove in this conspiracy,' he said referring to the 4.5 percent reservation for minorities announced by the central government that is to be included within the 27 percent quota for Other Backward Classes (OBC).
'I am against this conspiracy and am ready to face any kind of probe. I will prove myself innocent,' he told TV channels.
'I, my family, my community, and my party BJP, will fight against this atrocity. I appeal to CBI, don't be partisan probe, be impartial so that its trustworthiness is maintained.'
Expelled from BSP for his alleged involvement in the NRHM scam in the state, Kushwaha joined BJP Tuesday.
CBI raided the premises of Kushwaha and his associates in connection with the Rs.10,000 crore National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) scam. The raids were being conducted at 60 places in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.
The backward caste leader, who used to be a confidant of BSP chief Mayawati, has been charged with criminal misconduct and misuse of office in implementing the NRHM scheme as the family welfare minister in the state.
He belongs to the Kushwaha community, which comprises nearly four percent of the voters in Uttar Pradesh, where assembly elections will be held Feb 4-28.
