Corruption is in the DNA of 100 crore Indians: Yogi government minister Om Prakash Rajbhar

UP Cabinet Minister Om Prakash Rajbhar said that the fight against corruption is not easy since it is highly rampant across the country.

LUCKNOW: In yet another embarrassment for Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, cabinet minister Om Prakash Rajbhar has now claimed that corruption runs deep in the blood of 100 crore Indians.

Addressing an event in the Hamirpur district, Om Prakash Rajbhar said the fight against corruption is not easy since the evil is highly rampant across the country. 

''Corruption is so deep-rooted that it runs in the blood of 100 crore Indians,'' the Minister said.

Referring to the recent flyover collapse in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi, Rajbhar said that it will take time to weed out corruption completely from the society, according to Patrika.com.

PM Modi is himself fighting a lone battle to rein in corruption, the Minister said.

Referring to the law and order situation in his state, Rajbhar who heads the Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP), said the situation is still better in Uttar Pradesh as compared to states like Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat and Kerala.

Rajbhar also accused Yogi Adityanath and BJP chief Amit Shah of not paying any heed to the legitimate demands made by the SC/ST community.

Rajbhar said this while addressing a political event organised to press for the inclusion of the SC/ST members in the mainstream of governance. 

However, this is not the first time that Rajbhar has made such a remark targeting the ruling BJP leadership.

The minister had earlier claimed that corruption had increased under the Yogi Adityanath dispensation in UP.

The BJP later rubbished the minister's claim as an attempt to "garner cheap publicity", adding that if Rajbhar had any grievances, he should air them at an appropriate forum.

"There is more corruption prevailing under the BJP regime as compared to the previous SP and the BSP regimes. Though I am a part of this government, this is not my government...We have an alliance with the BJP," Rajbhar had said, according to PTI.

Rajbhar also said that his party was not getting the due respect under the present government.

"I have talked to the Chief Minister on these issues," he said.

Asked whether his party would contest the 2019 Lok Sabha polls with the BJP, Rajbhar said it depended on the saffron party.

"It depends on the BJP whether it wants an alliance with us or not. Like local body polls, if the BJP does not forge an alliance with us, we will contest the Lok Sabha polls alone," he said.

On the violence in Kasganj, Rajbhar said the incident was unfortunate and claimed some officers were defaming the government.

The SBSP, which has four MLAs in the 403-member UP Assembly, had contested the Uttar Pradesh civic polls separately. It had even contested a few seats in the Gujarat Assembly elections on its own, asserting that its alliance with the BJP was not at the national level.