R S Praveen Kumar Resigns From BSP

BSP Telangana chief and former IPS officer R S Praveen Kumar today announced that he was resigning from his post.

He said in a tweet that he was leaving the BSP with a heavy heart.

He said that the decision was taken in a mandatory situation, due to pressure on him to end the alliance with the BRS.

"Dear fellow 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. I don't want the image of this great party to suffer because of recent decisions in Telangana under my leadership. At the same time, I also don't want to compromise on certain core principles and personal character. I shall not blame anyone and I also do not want to cheat those who trusted me (sic)," he said in his tweet.

He alleged that the BJP was conspiring to break the BSP-BRS alliance, and that BRS MLC Kavitha's arrest a few hours before the election schedule was part of it. He said as part of the alliance agreement, no matter how many ups and downs there were, one needed to move forward. Difficulties and joys needed to both be shared, he said. (He appeared to be hinting that there was pressure on him to end the alliance after Kavitha's arrest.)

He said that the BSP leadership now needed to take a call on the alliances with the BRS. "It is for the Bahujan Samaj Party to decide the future course of action in Telangana. I profusely thank most #Behenji @mayawati for trusting and guiding me all through. You continue to be my hero, #Behenji. I shall always keep the core principles on which this Mission for Social Justice founded by Manyavar Kanshiram in my mind throughout my life. I thank Ramji Gautham, MP Rajya Sabha for handholding me in this short journey through the world of Bahujan politics. I am also indebted to all Bahujans of this country forever for their trust on me. I want to assure you all that I won't 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 my own way. This will be my lifetime mission. I thank people of Telangana and India for standing by me all through (sic)," he said.